Legend: Reda Abdel Rahman at Gallery Misr Born in the city of Ismailia in 1966, Abdel Rahman has been passionate about art since the tender age of six. His practice ranges from large-scale murals, to sculpture, to paintings, which he produces mostly in his studio located on Dahab Island. The artist is heavily influenced by Ancient Egyptian art, and his oeuvre consistently features figurative painting and portraiture, often drenched in symbolism. In this exhibition, Abdel Rahman reinterprets local and international folk tales and legends. The exhibition runs until 18 May. 4a Ibn Zanki Street, Zamalek, Cairo ## Silenced: Mohamed Monaiseer at Safarkhan Art Gallery Emerging artist Mohamed Monaiseer holds his first solo exhibition at the Safarkhan Art Gallery until 21 May. Monaiseer presents a series of artworks submerged in almost illegible calligraphy, penned on natural fabrics in mixed media, including ink and chemicals. "What he has created is calligraphy that cannot be decoded, leading to a paradox, for what you see are words, but words that cannot be read or decrypted. Therefore, they can only be taken in through one's soul rather than one's mental concept in order to experience the essence of this project," reads the curatorial statement. The exhibition runs until 21 May. 6 Brazil Street, Zamalek, Cairo ## Spring Festival exhibition at Hotel Viennoise Within the visual arts programme presented by the Norwegian Red Zone festival, hosted by the Spring Festival in Cairo, Berlin-based Lebanese artist Said Baalbaki uses conceptual art and objects to blur the line between fiction and reality in a historical and religious context through his Fictional Museum project. Balbaki presents installations which challenge the credibility of museums as proper sites for artefacts and which comment on the shattered unity of Lebanon after the civil war. On the other hand Khalifa, a photojournalist for Al-Shorouk newspaper, presents a collection of her paintings and collages. The exhibition runs until 25 May. 11 Mahmoud Bassiouny Street, Downtown Cairo ## UAR: Ala Younis at Gypsum Gallery Amman-based visual artist Ala Younis comes to Cairo with this new solo show at Gypsum Gallery, UAR. The show features Younis's research-based project, rooted in a photograph of former Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser looking over a crowd at the signing of the sovereign union agreement between Egypt and Syria in 1958. The artist looks at the discourses and narratives that propelled Nasser into such an historical figure. The project is the last in trilogy of work on Arab nationalism. "It is an exploration of individuals' complicated relationship to Gamal Abdel Nasser as the hero and the anti-hero, to his promises and his failures. The trilogy delves into Egyptian modernism and the appropriation of symbols from a glorious past and the rhetoric of science, progress and industrialisation," according to the curatorial statement. The exhibition runs until 10 June. 5a Bahgat Ali Street, Zamalek, Cairo ## Nirvana: Mohamed Elganouby at Mashrabia Gallery Contemporary artist Mohamed Elganouby presents "Nirvana" this May at Mashrabia Gallery. The artist had been absent from Cairo's art scene for the past five years, during which he was living in the United States, but here he returns with an exhibition that promises to present an "immersive and hypnotic" experience, according to the curatorial statement. "Like having come out of a long meditation, or of an ecstatic state, reality is shredded into pieces and reassembled following rhythmical references," reads the statement. The exhibition runs until 12 June. 8 Champollion St., Downtown Cairo ## 1971, Sun Ra in Egypt: Solo show by Tom Bogaert This month, Medrar for contemporary art presents a multi-part show by Tom Bogaert, entitled "1971, Sun Ra in Egypt". The ongoing research project exhibited takes root from the life and career of American jazz pioneer, poet and philosopher Sun Ra (1914-1992), who paid a visit to Egypt in 1971. Bogaert's show will feature a series of performances, lectures, installations, videos, art objects, and a related publication. The exhibition runs until 13 June. 7 Gamal El-Din Abul Mahasen Street, Garden City, Cairo ## White, Black, and Colors: Omar Fayoumi at Falak One of Cairo's newest cultural spaces, Falak, hosts an Egyptian by contemporary Egyptian artist Omar Fayoumi this month. Titled "White, Black, and Colors", the show includes 25 works by the artist. Fayoumi graduated from the faculty of fine arts in Cairo in 1981. He went on to study murals at the academy of fine art in St. Petersburg, Russia. The exhibition runs until 15 June. 7 Gamal El-Din Abul Mahasen Street, Garden City, Cairo ## A Guest Without A Host Is A Ghost: collective show at Beirut, CIC, and Townhouse A Guest Without A Host Is A Ghost is a year-long visual arts project that brings thirty artworks from the Kadist Art Foundation (Paris, San Francisco), to Egypt. Described by Beirut as a "temporary guest to the city," this miniature collection will appear in various shows and events across Cairo. An exhibition spread out across three venues, the Contemporary Image Collective (CIC), Townhouse and Beirut, the project kicked off on 6 and 7 May, featuring works by artists with international acclaim, some of them making their Egyptian debut. The exhibition runs until 18 June. No. 11, Road 12, Mahmoud Sedky, off Shaheen Street, Agouza, Cairo ## Sweet Dreams: Amre Heiba at GIZ In this exhibition at the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH office in Zamalek, oil paintings from different stages of Amre Heiba's career will be displayed all summer. The themes that typically characterise Heiba's work will be on display, including childhood, solitude, and romance. The exhibition runs until 31 August. 4d, El-Gezira Street, Zamalek, Cairo ## Contemporary Views VI at Al Masar Gallery Al-Masar Gallery celebrates its sixth anniversary this year, with a selection of artworks by some of Egypt's most prominent visual artists: Hussein Youssef Amin, Tahia Halim, Mounir Canaan, Samir Rafi, Taha Hussein, Omar El-Nagdy, Gorges Bahgory, Mohammad Sabry and Hazem Taha Hussein. The show will run through the summer. The exhibition runs until 18 September. 26 July Street, side entrance on Isaac Jacob Street (ground floor), Zamalek, Cairo ## Il Corpus Homanus II: Collective show at The Art Lounge Al-Masar Gallery's sister art space, the Art Lounge, will showcase paintings and sculptures by a small group of contemporary artists: Ibrahim El Dessouki, Sami Aboul Azm, Esam Darwish and Kareem Al-Qurity. Complementing the show at Al-Masar, this show will present the current generation of visual artists. It will last all summer. The exhibition runs until 18 September. 26 July Street, side entrance on Isaac Jacob Street (ground floor), Zamalek, Cairo ## http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/101427.aspx
