This year's Ramadan surprise in the series 'Spirits in the City' is a night on late Sheikh Sayed Mekkawi - Lectures - Al-Ahram Weekly
American University in Cairo
New Cairo Campus
History Department Conference Room, 2144
Thurs 27 1-2pm: 'History Hash Outs— Cultural Diplomacy on the Eve of War: The 1939 New York World's Fair", a talk by James J. Fortuna, Associate Lecturer in U.S. History at the University of St Andrews, on Cultural Diplomacy on the Eve of War: The 1939 New York World's Fair. Promoted as the 'last best chance for peace,' the 1939 World's Fair in New York offered foreign governments a platform to showcase their geopolitical perspectives through national pavilions and exhibits. While often dismissed as sites of entertainment or commerce, this talk reveals how the Fair functioned as an international forum where nations used cultural displays to advance foreign policy goals.
Cairo Opera House
Gezira Exhibition Grounds, Tel 02 2737 0602/2736 0361, box office 02 2739 0132/0144
Small Hall
Mon 3 March, 9pm: This year's Ramadan surprise in the series "Spirits in the City" is a night whose title is the wit and kindness that we knew the late Sheikh Sayed Mekkawi. The night is titled "The Earth Speaks Arabic", his immortal cry in his era and the eras after him.. And his daughter Amira Sayed Makkawi, and many fans will enlighten the event. A night in the lap of creativity of our master Sheikh Sayed, Egypt's most popular mesaharaty (mobile drummer) in Ramadan.
Maqas Maq'd of Sultan Al-Ashraf Qaitby (MASQ)
Darb Al-Saqia St, behind Qaitbay Mosque, City of the Dead, Tel 01226569944
Thurs 27, 6pm: 'Some Things Never Change' artist Mohamed Abla in conversation with Jaroslaw Dobrowolski.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 27 February, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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Al-Ahram Weekly
20-05-2025
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Don't miss Italian Cultural Institute's 'The Fifth Element: Art' exhibition
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Cordoba 3A, Degla St, off Furat St, Mohandessein, Tel 01111 665868 'Born in a Poem' contemporary portrait group exhibition by 18 artists, curated by Rania Khallaf (14 May- 4 June). Czech Embassy 4 Al Dokki Street, Giza, behind the German School, Tel 02 3333 9700/01 'Treasures of Czechia', an exhibition on Czechia's UNESCO heritage. Czech artist Markéta Zlesáková displays her unique work inspired by Czech folk ornamentation and Arabic calligraphy and ornament. The artworks will remain on display along the Czech Embassy wall (2 April- end of July). Goethe Institute 5 El-Bustan Street, Downtown, Tel 02 2575 9877/ 219/ 01288711134 Takhshena gallery 'L'Égypte, by Fred Boissonnas – A Photographic Portrait' photo exhibition is organized by Switzerland Embassy, with Bibliothèque de Genève and Université de Genève, in the framework of Cairo Photo Week 2025. 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Italian Cultural Institute 3 El-Sheikh El Marsafy St, Zamalek, Tel 02 2735 5423/2735 8791 Part of the official launch of SABBART Vol. II — 'The Fifth Element: Art' exhibition, curated by artist and Founder of Art LINX Dina Fahmy El-Rouby, features more than 50 amazing artists along with rising youth talents from the Art and Talent Zone Academy by Mai Abbass. This edition of SABBART Vol. II, supported by the EUNIC Egypt, Italian Cultural Institute, Art Linx and The Vault, dives into the four elements to spark dialogue between art, ecology, and society (5-30 May). Italian/Egyptian Centre for Restoration and Antiquities (CIERA) 31 Al Suyuffeya St, Al Helmeya, Cairo, visitors are welcomed by appointments so contact the manager Mr. Salah Ramadan 0100 8716067 Architectural complex of the Mevlevi Dervish 'Samaa Khana, Restorations and Restorers' permanent exhibition of the activities of the working/formation sites for the restoration and recovery of the monuments. 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Yassin art gallery 159, 26th July St, Behind Diwan Bookstore, Zamalek, Tel 01271170035 Trio exhibition of sculpture by artists Gamal Abdel-Nasser, Nada G. Abdel-Nasser and Reem G. Abdel-Nasser (closing 29 May). ALEXANDRIA Bibliotheca Alexandrina Port Said St, Chatby, Alexandria 21526, Tel (03) 4839999 Archeological Museum A permanent exhibition on the results of the Archaeological Mission of the University of Turin in Nelson Island. * A version of this article appears in print in the 22 May, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Al-Ahram Weekly
17-05-2025
- Al-Ahram Weekly
African books come to Paris - Culture - Al-Ahram Weekly
The crowds turned out in force this year for the Paris African Book Fair, where Cameroon and African Brazil were the guests of honour. Now on its fourth edition, but held in a new location, the Paris African Book Fair has established itself as an unmissable event on the French literary calendar and one of the only opportunities that many people in France may have to learn about publications in French produced across the African continent and the Africa lists of French publishers. Held in its new location of the Halle des Blancs Manteaux in the French capital's 4th district over three days from 15 to 16 March, the Book Fair this year may have benefitted from its new and prestigious venue. Previously it was held in the bland surroundings of the nearby town hall of the same district, but this year it moved to the heart of the historic Marais, an area famous for its winding mediaeval streets, art galleries, and high-end boutiques. The crowds at the Fair this year may well have been increased by passing shoppers eager to experience a part of the city left untouched by rebuilding. They may also have been attracted by the Halle des Blancs Manteaux itself, a 19th-century structure originally built to host clothing markets rather like the better-known Carreau du Temple nearby, an early iron and glass structure now renovated and used to host fashion shows and other similar events. The Halle des Blancs Manteaux, the Carreau du Temple, and the whole of the Marais district are important parts of the French capital's history and its present built environment, and it is always a pleasure to look inside these buildings and explore the area of which they are a part. Arriving at the Book Fair on its third and final day, the Al-Ahram Weekly found the crowds already very much in evidence, with people milling around in the Halle des Blancs Manteaux to inspect the stands of the African and French publishers present and queueing up near the stairs taking visitors to a mezzanine level where space had been found for a programme of discussions and meetings. These discussions, very well-attended, covered an impressive range of subjects, with some related directly to the countries that were guests of honour at the Fair this year and others broaching more general topics related to publishing books in francophone Africa. The programme saw sessions on the 'promotion of books in Cameroon' and 'the distribution of books in Cameroon in the digital age' on the first day of the Fair, for example, as well as others on more general subjects. Some of these will doubtless have spoken directly to many attendees at the Fair, such as those on 'Senegalese letters in the Diaspora,' moderated by the Senegalese winner of the prestigious Prix Goncourt for fiction in 2021, Mohamed Mbougar Sarr, the 'Diasporas and the renovation of Pan-Africanism,' and several sessions on 'Francafrique,' shorthand for the legacies of French colonialism in Africa and present-day struggles for restitution and recognition. French publishers with significant African lists were present at the Fair, along with smaller ones specialising in African history, literature, and politics. The major French publisher Gallimard had sent along books from its prestigious Continents Noirs series of writing by francophone Sub-Saharan African writers, for example, along with piles of other books from its other imprints written by or about African writers. Continents Noirs, set up by editorial director Antoine Gallimard in 2000, now hosts work by some 50 contemporary Sub-Saharan African writers writing in French and is designed to introduce the wider French-speaking public to 'African, Afro-European, and Diaspora literature and its authors.' This is the imprint's 25th anniversary year, and if the Gallimard stand at the African Book Fair is anything to go by, it is going from strength to strength, with the immediately recognisable tan covers of the Continents Noirs series providing hospitable livery for African writers eager to break into the mainstream French market. While Gallimard was the only major mainstream French publisher present, well-known specialised ones were out in force, with Présence africaine, Karthala, and l'Harmattan all sending extensive stands. All three of these publishers, well-known to anyone reading about African affairs or the developing world in French, have extensive lists on Sub-Saharan Africa and have long played an important role in introducing works on or by African writers to French-speaking readers and, probably just as importantly, keeping them in print. Présence africaine had bagged a prominent location for its stand at this year's Fair, acting as a kind of focal point for people entering the building. Originally set up as a magazine by the Senegalese writer Alioune Diop in 1947 and intended to publish the works of the first generations of francophone African writers along with works on the history, politics, and sociology of African and African Diaspora societies, the review became a publishing house in 1949 with the support of some of the period's most important French, African, and Caribbean and Diaspora intellectuals. These included the Martinican writer Aimé Césaire, the Senegalese poet and future President Léopold Sédar Senghor, the Americans Richard Wright and James Baldwin, and the French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre. Looking through Présence africaine's books today, one finds classics by Senegalese writer Cheikh Anta Diop on Sub-Saharan African history, along with translated works by former Ghanian President and theorist of pan-Africanism Kwame Nkrumah and historian of the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans Eric Williams. Mohamed Mbougar Sarr was on hand to sign copies of his books at Présence africaine on the second day of the Fair, among them his Goncourt Prize-winning La plus secrète mémoire des hommes published by Livre de Poche. Sub-Saharan and North Africa: While the Fair does not focus on the Arab countries in which French is spoken as a second language, such as the Arab Maghreb countries and Syria and Lebanon, it does not ignore them either. The Arab Maghreb countries of Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria make up the whole of West Africa north of the Sahara, and so even though the African Book Fair is mostly about the Sub-Saharan African publishing scene, this year's event like earlier ones saw important contributions from francophone Maghreb publishers. Francophone publisher Casbah Editions was in evidence from Algeria, and on the day the Weekly visited was organising two signing sessions by its authors, Ahmed Hanafi of his novel Traversées périlleuses du miroir and Meryem Belkaid of her novel Ecris, et je viendrai. Francophone Algerian publisher Editions Frantz Fanon, named after the Martinican psychologist Frantz Fanon who played a significant role in the Algerian War of Independence against France, also had a stand at the Fair. Among the books it was displaying was Algerian author Hedia Bensahli's L'Algérie juive, a history of the Jewish communities that until the middle of the last century or so used to live in Algeria. There were various smaller publishers from Morocco, though none, unfortunately, from Tunisia. French publishers Karthala and l'Harmattan had sent along extensive stands, with both these publishers putting out dozens of books on Africa and by African writers each year in literature, history, and politics. Both had organised signing sessions for several of their authors on the day the Weekly visited. As is so often the case with events of this sort, so extensive was the Book Fair's programme of meetings and discussions that it was not possible to attend more than a handful of those on offer. Several events caught the eye on the second day of the Fair, for example, among them a discussion with Jean Khalfa, co-editor of Frantz Fanon, écrits sur l'aliénation et la liberté, a collection of Fanon's hitherto uncollected writings which when it appeared in 2018 was hailed as nothing less than a publishing event. There were also discussions with former French Minister of Equal Opportunities Azouz Begag on relations between France and Algeria and between Administrator of the Chair of African Arts and Literatures at the Académie royale du Maroc Eugène Ebodé and Professor at the Université Mohamed VI in Morocco Raphael Liogier on African politics on the same day, together with the award of this year's Grand Prix Afrique. This was awarded to Cameroonian novelist Hemley Boum for her novel Le Rêve de pecheur, which examines the relationship between post-colonial Cameroon and contemporary France through the memories of individuals from three different generations. Boum was one of the speakers at a discussion attended by the Weekly on the 'founders and foundations of Cameroonian literature' that also saw contributions from Eugène Ebodé, this time by virtue of his recent novel Zam Zam, Gaston Paul Effa, author of L'enfant que tu as été marche à côté de toi, Romauld Fonkua, author of Poésie des francophones, états des lieux, and Boniface Mongo M'Boussa, author of Désir d'Afrique. Boum spoke interestingly about the role played by the founders of modern Cameroonian literature, notably the novelist Mongo Beti (1932-2001), recognised as one of the most important francophone African writers of the independence generation. Beti had helped to create a common Cameroonian identity, Boum said, uniting the country around perceptions of a common history and a common struggle, and for this reason alone it was no surprise to find his works being taught to the younger generations in Cameroonian schools. Beti, like his contemporary Ferdinand Oyono (1929-2010), had been able to build Cameroonian identity through fiction and particularly through autobiography, allowing his story to stand in for those of others when trying to capture the historical experience of the country. His early novel Ville cruelle, written when he was in his early twenties, captures his childhood, school, and village and the contrast between village life and life in the city in a way that 'for the first time gave me the impression that something had been written about my country from within,' Boum said. For Gaston Paul Effa, describing how he came to write fiction, it was important to recognise the contributions of the founding generation, as well as to reconnect with the heritage of older generations in later years. Born in Cameroon, it was only when he moved to Strasbourg in France at the age of 16 that he really discovered the country, he said, later returning for a decade to explore its traditions as a way of 'returning to things that we have forgotten.' A final session attended by the Weekly at this year's Fair was on 'artistic resistance' and saw contributions from Carine Bahanag, author of Danser au féminin en Afrique, Angelo Dan, Ambassador of the West African country of Benin in France and author of La restitution de biens culturels entre la France et le Bénin, and Veronique Kanor, an activist and poet. Bahanag spoke interestingly about the research she had done for her book on the tradition of women's dancing in Cameroon, which despite the role it plays in building female solidarity has apparently only been researched and written about by men. Dan spoke about his role in the negotiations for the return of material looted from Benin during the French colonial period in 2021, a process described in his book on the subject, and Kanor spoke about her work as a poet and activist, designed to draw attention to the injustices suffered by African women immigrants in France. * A version of this article appears in print in the 15 May, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Egypt Today
01-05-2025
- Egypt Today
Egypt, South Korea celebrate 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations
CAIRO – 1 May 2025: South Korea and Egypt celebrated the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations on Wednesday with an event titled 'Five Thousand Years of Civilizational Dialogue' at the American University in Cairo. In a recorded video message, Korean Minister of Culture Yoo In-chun hailed the event as a new beginning for artistic and cultural cooperation between Korea, Egypt, Asia, and Africa, providing a fertile environment for cross-continental creativity to shape the future cultural landscape. South Korean Ambassador to Egypt Kim Young-hyun also emphasized that South Korea and Egypt have elevated their relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership through cooperation in trade, technology, and culture. He stated that exchanges between Egypt; as a cradle of civilization and a cultural center in the Middle East, and Korea; as a leading global cultural power, have long flourished 'These cultural ties will undoubtedly deepen our cooperation and solidarity over the next 30 years, transforming shared aspirations into reality,' he added.
