Tips from the culture desk: Make sure you’re free Tuesday and Thursday

There are a lot of worthwhile films to see this week, as well as several promising live music shows. Director Magdy Ahmed Aly’s much anticipated film adaptation of Ibrahim Eissa’s novel Mawlana continues to screen in cinemas across the country, along with Kamla Abo Zekry’s social drama, A Day For Women, which comes recommended by our staff. On a lighter note, star-studded Hollywood musical La La Land continues its run at Zawya Cinema.

Discursiveness, a playful multimedia exhibition by Egyptian artist Dia Hamed and Swiss artists Yannick Jacquet and Fred Penelle, continues until January 19.

Dovecotes photography exhibition - Tuesday

Celebrating 10 years of art and community engagement in Ard al-Lewa, the aptly named Artellewa space has invited Swiss photographer David Aebi (whose work was exhibited at their opening in 2007) to return to Cairo to show his photographs of pigeon towers, pigeon keepers, and the culture surrounding pigeon breeding in Egypt.

7-10 pm, January 10, Artellewa — 19 Mohamed Ali El Eseary Street. Ard El Lewa, Giza, Egypt. More information here.

Film screening: The Art of the Steal - Tuesday

Accompanying Townhouse’s current exhibition, The Past is Always an Invented Land, which brings together prolific collector Amgad Naguib’s sometimes ugly, sometimes beautiful trinkets and knickknacks, Townhouse's Rawabet Theater will screen 2009 documentary The Art of the Steal. It follows the struggle to control the Barnes Foundation, a private art collection worth billions caught in a tug of war between wealthy museums and Barnes’ own students.

6.30 pm, January 10, Townhouse Rawabet, 3 Hussein al-Memar Street, downtown Cairo. RSVP necessary. More information here.

Memorial and exhibition for the late Fakhry Labib - Tuesday

Last week Egypt bid farewell to one of its great translators, political activists and writers, Fakhry Labib, who is perhaps best known for his Arabic rendition of British novelist Lawrence Durrell’s epic work, The Alexandria Quartet. Alongside the memorial ceremony at the Opera House’s High Culture Institute, an exhibition of Labib’s work will also be on display.

6 pm, January 10, Cairo Opera House, 1 Gabaliya Street, Giza.

ZigZag Live featuring Ritza - Wednesday

Continuing their weekly program of live acts, this week synth-pop band Ritza will grace ZigZag’s (rather small) stage for an intimate performance. The band cites The Magnetic Fields, Future Islands and The Chromatics as some of their influences. Their music is dreamy but upbeat, and guaranteed to leave you at least bobbing your head (if not breaking out some dance moves).

10 pm, January 11, Tickets LE 50. ZigZag, 6 Kasr al-Nil Street, downtown Cairo. More information found here.

Dawn Portraits by Huda Lutfi - Thursday

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In her first solo show in Egypt since 2013, artist Huda Lutfi presents over 60 new works that appear as something of a departure from the politically charged pieces she’s produced in the past. Bathed in the soft glow of dawn, these painted portraits of somewhat androgynous women continue Lutfi’s interest in gender expression and identity and read as a more intimate narrative of the artist’s practice in the liminal hours before the night ends and the day begins.

Opening January 12 at 7 pm, Gypsum Gallery, 5 Ibrahim Naguib Street, ground floor, Apt. 2, Garden City, Cairo. More information here.

Keep on Shooting - Thursday

Following her heartwarming film A Present from the Past, young director Kawthar Younis holds a crowdfunding party at Zigzag to raise money for the production of her new short feature film. The playlist night will feature visuals by Taskeetat, a new art project working with contemporary Egyptian media and pop culture.

January 12, 9 pm, ZigZag — 6 Kasr al-Nil Street, downtown Cairo. Tickets LE 100, must be pre-bought. More information here.