Amir Taz Palace 27 Al-Syoufiya St, off Al-Saliba St, Al-Khalifa District, Tel 02 2514 2581 “The Art of Arab Calligraphy”,a group exhibition features 18 calligraphers from Egypt such as Ahmed Sharkas, Asmaa Ibrahim, Ismail Abdu,Iman Ibrahim, and Zeinab Bakhtengan (Uzbekistan), Abdallah Ahmed (Britain), Zeinoun Eissa (Thailand), Mustafa Qassem (Nigeria) as well as artists from Singapore and Iraq (18-31 December).
Arcade 25 Orabi St, off Port Said, Maadi, Tel 010 19222220 “Pockets of Darkness, Layers of Light and Sounds of Colour”, exhibition by artists: Christian Dootz, Peter Blodau and Ruairi O'Brien (4 December-8 January).
Cairo Opera Complex Gezira Exhibition Grounds, Zamalek Salah Taher gallery Tel 02 2739 0132/0144 Miscellaneous exhibition by the Arab Artists Forum(18-23 December). Oil paintings by Hoda Murad (25-31 December). Music Library (Ziad Bakir) gallery Oil paintingsby Mona Fathy(closing 21 December). “The Meeting of Imagination”, paintings byMaha Al-Homsy (24-30 December). Ceramic and Traditional Handicrafts Centre 1 Al-Imam St, behind Amr bin Al-Aas Mosque, Al-Fustat, Old Cairo, Tel 02 2364 3103 A permanent exhibition of the centre's ceramic, brass, jewellery and khayameya products.
Contemporary Image Collective (CIC) 22 Abdel Khalek Tharwat St, 4th Floor, Downtown, Cairo, Tel 02 2396 4272 “Botoun”, will grow and take form over the coming weeks and months. It consists of rooms designed to accommodate different public and semi-public workshops and gatherings, screenings, talks as well as art works and books (22 October until the end of the year).
Darb 1718 Kasr El Shamaa St, Al Fakhareen, Old Cairo, near Mar Girgis Metro Station, Tel 02 2741 3053/ 0109 3766188 “Cairographie” photography exhibition is held by Darb 1718, in partnership with Al Safar Association. The exhibition celebrates photography through bringing together all career stages; emerging, mid-career and established artists, to raise awareness of contemporary topics through different forms of photography and video. The exhibition creates opportunities for artistic expression and engagement between participants and attendees (closing31 December).
Ebdaa 23 B Ismail Mohamed St, Zamalek, Tel 02 2736 6239/0100 2155702 Exhibition of paintings by artists Hamdy Khamis and Mohamed Al-Alawy (18 December - 9 January).
The Egyptian Museum Tahrir Sq, Sadat Station, Tel 02 2578 2452 “French Archaeology in Egypt: Research, Cooperation and Innovation” exhibitionon the French excavations in Egypt will be opened by the Minister of Antiquities Khaled Al-Ananiand French Ambassador Stéphane Romatet. Part of the activities of the France-Egypt Cultural Year 2019, the exhibition isorganised by the Ministry of Antiquities, the Egyptian Museumand the French Institute of Oriental Archaeology(19 December-18 February 2010).
Al-Ghouri Caravansary Imam Mohamed Abdou St, off Al-Muaaz St with Al-Azhar, Tel 02 2514 7475 Permanent exhibition of the handicraft centre's products, including pottery, brass artworks and jewellery.
Atelier Cairo Art Jameel 13 A Mohamed Al-Maraashly St, Zamalek “Winter Fair” exhibition features the works of Egyptian craft and design for sale, including jewellery, ceramics, veneer woodwork, home furnishings, and décor. (closing 19 December, 12pm to 8pm, Free Entry).
Khan Almaghraby 18 Al-Mansour Mohamed St, Zamalek, Tel 02 2735 3349/01000 694940 “The Wahba Family Quartet” exhibition of miscellaneous artworks by Dareen Wahba, Rabab Wahba, Nabil Wahba and Mervet Elswify (closing 21 December).
Liwan gallery 23 Hassan Assem St, Zamalek, 02 2735 3538/ 012 00999448 “88 Years of Art”, Georges Bahgory's annual exhibition (7 December- 2 January).
Mashrabia Gallery of Contemporary Art 15 Mahmoud Bassiouny St, Downtown, Tel 02 25750353 Daily except Fridays from 11am to 9pm “Stories of Broken Glass”, the 6th solo exhibition of Ahmed Sabry at the gallery (closing 9 January). Misr 4A Ibn Zankai St, from Hassan Sabri, Zamalek, Tel 02 2735 0604 “Nocturne of Absence”, paintings by artist Essam Marouf (closing20 December).
NWT House Villa 19 Road 12 Maadi El Sarayat, Tel 0100 3631083 In her Talisman exhibit, artist and designer Heba Helmi mixes paints, fabrics and ceramics to celebrate the beauty of Arabic letters (closing 15 January).
Picasso East Villa No 39 Al Narges 35thsettlement, 90's St, in front of Lake View Compound, New Cairo, Tel 0122 0000035 “Adam's Ship”, the 35th exhibition of painting by the One Shot group, led by artist Abdel-Aziz Al-Guindy (23 December- 7 January).
SOMA art 14 Maraashli St, Zamalek,2nd floor, apartment 4, Zamalek, Tel 0122 2429292 “Crude”, paintings by acclaimed artist Mohamad Moftah (19 December- 23 January).
Salama 36 Ahmed Oraby St, Mohandeseen, Tel 02 3346 3242 “Ein (Eye)”, a group exhibition by the likes of Esmat Dawestashi and Omar El-Nagdi (12-26December).
Tahrir Cultural Centre (TCC) AUC Tahrir Square Future Gallery A photo exhibition on Magda Saleh, Egypt's first prima ballerina and on the art of ballet in Egypt. The exhibit features archive material about Saleh as well as stunning photographs of ballet taken by renowned photographer Sherif Sonbol. The exhibition is open every day including weekends, from 10am to 9pm, except for university holidays (16 December- 31 January).
TAM.Gallery Km 28,Cairo-Alexandria Desert Road, Abu Rawash, Giza-Egypt, 0100 0773860 “The 5th Cairo Art Fair”, the largest exhibition of contemporary art in Egypt, where over 130 artists are participating with more than 1500 artworks. Carefully-selected pieces of new art just for CAF will be adorning the walls of the gallery this year, and as always, catering to all tastes with an incredible range of prices, genres, subjects and sizes. The artworks will periodically change throughout the duration of the show.It is free, accessible and open to the public (6 December-30 January).
UBUNTU 20 Hassan Sabry St, (entrance from Ibn Zinki St), Zamalek, Tel 0100 2792223 Ground &First Foor “Caricature”, a group exhibition by the creators of happiness. The exhibition documents and presents a new historical narrative of caricature art in Egypt. It is the first of its kind displaying a varied collection of caricature works (closing 28 December).
ZAGpick F8, Strip Mall-Sodic, Waslet Dahshour Road, Beverly Hills, Sheikh Zayed, 6thof October, Tel 02 38863961/0111 2304440 “Stories”,paintings by Mohamed Sabry (7-26 December). Zamalek Art gallery 11 Brazil St, Zamalek, Tel 02 2735 1240 Venue I Paintings byZeinab Al-Sageny(15December- 5 January). Venue II “The Icon”, bronze sculptures by Mohamed El-Fayoumi(15December- 5 January). Venue III “Moments”, paintings byMostafa Rabie (15December- 5 January).
ALEXANDRIA French Cultural Institute 30 Al Nabi Danial St, Mahatet Misr, Alexandria, Tel 03 3913435/03 3918952 “Kiosques d'Alexandrie et du Canal”, this rich exhibition, designed by CE Alex, traces more than two centuries of history of the francophone press in Egypt. It is complemented by a "focus" on the revolutionary press in Africa, produced by students from Senghor University in Alexandria (closing 31 December).
*A version of this article appears in print in the 19 December, 2019 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.
