Tips from the culture desk: Urbanism and performance join art and film in Cairo

In addition to the just-begun Cairo Video Festival (screenings on Monday and Tuesday at the Institut Francais as well as exhibitions at Medrar and the Contemporary Image Collective), the ongoing American University in Cairo’s book fair, and the exhibitions at both Townhouse and Gypsum galleries: a small show in a cafe, a Japanese-Egyptian urbanism collaboration, and the annual 2B Continued performing arts festival, always worth a visit.

Amanda KM’s Filtered Conversations - opens Sunday

For two years, in keeping with her largely smoking-based oeuvre, Egyptian-American artist Amanda KM has been inviting women to chat over drinks, snacks and cigarettes. Filtered Conversations documents these conversations through objects (like fabric that’s been used to filter cigarette smoke), video and images, and it’s fittingly presented in the sociable environment of a cafe.

Opens 6 pm, December 13 at Kafein, 28 Sherif Street, downtown Cairo.

Mapping Cairo - opens Monday

Five students recently traced, drew and analyzed Cairo for a 10-day workshop called Mapping Cairo, organized by Studio Meem and The Japan Foundation Cairo Office, in the hopes that the results would prompt new questions about the city’s urbanization and plans for its future growth. Working with local practitioners they studied economic activity, public space, transportation, land use, housing and population data. The mappings and visualizations of Cairo they produced are included in a touring exhibition called Struggling Cities, which was first initiated in Tokyo and focuses on urbanization proposals made by Japanese architects in the 1960s, whose work make up its bulk.

Studio Meem was founded by architect Manar Moursi in 2011 and has been involved in numerous projects since, including the design and construction of Mahatat’s Wonder Box project. It also just co-authored with David Puig a book about the diversity of often improvised chairs found on Cairo’s streets, Sidewalk Salon: 1001 Street Chairs in Cairo.  

Opening and presentation 6 pm December 14, Gezira Art Center,  Maahad Swisry Street, in front of the Marriott Hotel, Zamalek, Cairo. Open through December 22. See Facebook event here.

2B Continued - starts Thursday

If you’re interested in seeing work by young performing artists developed professionally with a lot of care for detail, 2B Continued is a must-visit. It’s back this year for its sixth edition following Studio Emad Eddin’s development “laboratory” for theater and contemporary dance with three performances.

The festival and its development program offer a rare opportunity for artists and production teams to be mentored by a group of established artists and technicians as they develop a performance. The mentor line-up includes Studio Emad Eddin’s own Ahmed El Attar, French choreographer and dancer Laurence Rondoni, Scottish stage and production manager Alan Wright, Lebanese scenographer Hussein Baydoun and Cairo lighting manager Saber al-Sayed.

The results are theater director Hani Sami’s version of The Newcomer, by an Egyptian playwright by called Michael Romani, and two dance performances: Hend al-Balouty’s Shadow of a Fish and Sherin Hegazy’s Ya Sem. The festival also hosts dancer Shaymaa Shoukry's Mayohkomsh, which premiered at this year's Attar-directed Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival, on December 21 and 22.

The three performances run back-to-back at 8 pm from December 17 and 19 at Falaki Theater, 24 Falaki Street, downtown Cairo. Tickets available at the theater starting December 14 from 5 to 9 pm, for LE20.