Visiting Arts
Visiting Arts Cultural Profiles ProjectCultural Profile
You are here: Introduction > Egypt
 
                                                                               
 
Egypt Cultural Profile
Due for launch in Summer 2005
The Egypt Cultural Profile, researched and written by Lisa Ball-Lechgar and Mai Abu El Dahab, has been produced as part of Visiting Arts' remit to ensure that high quality, under-represented contemporary arts are brought into the UK from countries across the world, and to extend the dialogue between UK and Egyptian artists.
Though broadly viewed as an intellectual powerhouse in the region with a strong concern for the conservation of its rich cultural heritage, Egypt nonetheless maintains a relatively low level of cultural exchange with UK and much of the EU. For many years, independent artists have had little outlet to promote their work or become recognised as representatives of contemporary culture.
But the climate has experienced change since the early 1990s; many local independent artists are now coming to the forefront and gaining national and some international recognition, while the number of foreign artists living and working in Egypt has increased. A new movement of younger artists and writers has started to emerge, articulating a different artistic sensibility, experimenting with artistic tools and techniques, and claiming a larger share of resources and access to audiences. This new movement is spreading across Egypt and networking is occurring on a regional and international scale.
The Egypt Cultural Profile will profile artists and cultural organisations across all art forms. Artists and organisations featured include, among others:
Hany Ghanem
Karima Mansour
El-warsha Theatre Company
Mahmoud Refat
George Kazazian
Heavy Cairo Traffic
Samy Elias
Iman Issa
The European Cultural Foundation (ECF) provided Visiting Arts with funds to cover the research and publication of the profile.
For more information, please contact:
Contact: Anna Schmitz Cultural Profiles Project Manager
Telephone: 44 (0) 20 7291 1629
 
in association with the British Council    
Date updated: 1 June 2005
           
 
The website is powered by a Content Management System developed by Visiting Arts and UK software company Librios Ltd   http://www.librios.com