Tips from the culture desk: Surrealists, comics and art!

Apart from the tips below, check out the group exhibition Roznama 5 at Medrar and Mohamed Allam's The Contents of the Grocery Bag at the Contemporary Image Collective. Also consider going to watch zealously iconoclastic comedy Kalb Balady in cinemas, and reserving yourself a seat at the Eish & Malh and Cimatheque collaboration Dinner at the Movies on Wednesday. Then come to Mada Masr’s monthly playlist night at downtown Cairo's After Eight the same night.

And here's our three-month round-up of upcoming arts events.

Cairo International Festival for Contemporary and Experimental Theater - all week

Having started on September 20, the 23rd edition of this state-run festival goes on through Friday with 30 theater works from 17 countries. Among Egyptian plays showing this week is Abir Ali’s Al-Romady, which is adapted from 1984 and featured in the National Theater Festival this summer, and Shadi al-Dali’sPlastic Dream, which is based on improvisation workshops. Polish puppet theater show Moliere is shown in Falaki Theater and Rwandan work Radio Playat Metropole Theater. Closing the festival is Sherin Hegazy’s well-known contemporary dance performance Ya Sem at the Cairo Opera House.

Ya Sem's premiere at the 2B Continued festival. Photo: Rowan El Shimi

Find the program of the festival here.

They Usually Lie Around a Grotto & the Egyptian Surrealists

Two very different exhibitions open this week in Cairo.

Townhouse is finally back to programming in downtown (in its the Factory Space) after a raid and a building collapse. They Usually Lie Around a Grotto is the first solo exhibition by Irish photographer and German University in Cairo professor Bryony Dunne. Opening on Sunday September 25, it consists of color and black-and-white images from Gizo Zoo: animals, seeds, structures and horticulture. A book, Seeds of the Zoo, will be launched during the opening.

When Arts Become Liberty: The Egyptian Surrealists (1938-1965), organized by Sharjah Art Foundation, the Culture Ministry and the American University in Cairo, opens at the Palace of the Arts on Wednesday September 28. Part of a current wave of interest in that period, it brings together over 150 works, including loans from Egyptian public and private collections to document modernism in Egypt and its global interconnectedness from the late 1930s to the early 1960s.

Asia Madani at Zigzag - Wednesday

The second of Zigzag’s newly launched live music Wednesday series features energetic Sudanese vocalist and drummer Asia Madani. Residing in Cairo since 2000 and a prolific performer here, Madani fuses an array of Sudanese, reggae and Egyptian sounds, generally bringing the crowd to their feet.

9 pm to 3 am, September 28. LE50 entry, attendees must be 21 or above, and there’s a “mixed group policy.” 6 Qasr al-Nil Street, downtown Cairo.

Cairo Comix Fest Volume II - starts Friday

The second edition of this three-day festival is a celebration and gathering of initiatives, artists and enthusiasts dealing with comics and graphic arts in Cairo. Founded by Shennawy (TokTok, The Ninth Art), Magdi El-Shafie (of graphic novel Metro) and Haytham Raafat (Twins Cartoon), the festival includes a comics market, an awards ceremony, talks and an exhibition. While the details are yet to be announced, the main theme is storytelling. A few speakers have also been mentioned on the Cairo Comix Facebook page, such as US comics artist Andy Warner, Mada Masr’s own Andeel, British critic and graphic novelist Paul Gravett, and France-based cartoonist and musican Mazen Kerbaj.

From September 30 until October 2 at the American University in Cairo’s Tahrir Campus. Full program to be announced here.

Art Shower festival - Saturday

This all-day event at Sayida Zeinab’s beautiful old Bayt al-Sinnary includes an artisan market, exhibitions, workshops and artist talks. Established by Abbasiya-based Designopia Zone, which rents its co-working space to artists and designers. Art Shower includes talks by veteran painter Mohamed Abla, photographer Hassan Atef and touring public performance project Mashrou’ al-Mareekh, while Genius Planet Academy runs the children’s areas.

More information here.