26 April - 2 May 2001
Issue No.531
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 26 April - 2 May 2001 Issue No.531 |
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Join the caravan
Can a festival prevent folklore from sinking into oblivion? A month-long tour of four cities holds the answer, as Reham El-Adawi discovers
The Egyptian Creative Arts and Crafts Caravan Festival, organised by Design Centre Cairo (DCC) in collaboration with the ministries of tourism, culture and media, "is aimed at reminding Egyptians of their folk arts and to prevent them from fading from memory," explains designer Ishaq Azmi, president of the festival.
There is plenty to remind Egyptians, and foreigners too, about: handicrafts, popular costumes, stained glass, pottery, ceramics, printed textiles and batik as well as jewellery from the New Valley, the oases, Akhmim and Harraniya.
The festival, to be held from 26 April to the end of May, will tour four of Egypt's most popular tourist destinations: Cairo, Hurghada, Sharm Al-Sheikh and Alexandria. The seven-day stop in Cairo started with an opening ceremony at the Religious Complex in Old Cairo (an area particularly rich in historical monuments, since it holds a mosque, several churches and a synagogue besides the fortress of Babylon). The newly renovated compound, affirms religious tolerance in Egypt. The art galleries to be visited include the DCC, the Creative Studies and Research Centre, Al-Hanager Centre in the Opera House, and the museums of Nabil Darwish, Mohieddin Hussein and Ramsis Wissa Wassif in Harraniya. The galleries will showcase works by Gazbia Sirry, Hussein Bikar, Inji Aflatoun, George Bahgory, Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni, Ahmed Nawwar and Sobhi Guirguis, among others. Various art competitions will be organised, and professional artists will supervise special workshops for students, young people and adults.
Fans of traditional costumes, jewellery and batik will be thrilled by the fashion shows organised in the framework of the festival. "This year, Morocco has been chosen to display its traditional crafts, costumes, jewellery and pottery," Azmi explained.
Ne'ma Bay in Sharm Al-Sheikh will host the caravan from 8 until 14 May; a concert of Oriental music expected to draw thousands of music-lovers will be organised at Echo Temple, which overlooks the bay from a vantage point 60m high. In the four governorates, festival activities will be held seven days a week, starting at 10am and ending at dawn. They will be covered by Nilesat. Oriental music will be played by Fathi Salama's Sharqiat Troupe and the Tannoura in addition to performances by Nubian singers, horse and stick dances.
In Alexandria, the caravan's final stop, activities will take place at Al-Shouna Arts Compound, which has hosted several biennales, workshops, art festivals and competitions organised by Azmi. At Al-Shouna, the festival will honour Alexandria Governor Abdel-Salam El-Mahgoub, chosen man of the year for his tireless efforts to rehabilitate the city once known as "the bride of the Mediterranean."
Azmi said the closing ceremony will be held at the Alexandria Conference Hall; several artists will be honoured posthumously for their accomplishments in art, including Habib Gorgi and Ramsis Wissa Wassif, who taught the children of Harraniya new techniques in the timeless art of the handmade klim; veteran ceramist Said El-Sadr; Khamis Shehata, renowned for his painting on textiles; and Abdel-Ghani Abul-Enein, famous for his rich collection of popular and traditional costumes. The ceremony will end with the screening of a documentary recording the festival's full range of activities.
Azmi hopes that the festival will become a national event to be held twice a year, in April and November.
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