This weekend brings an array of cultural happenings from music, ballet, poetry, to visual arts exhibitions and even media experiments; Ahram Online picks the most interesting, Thursday through Sunday (21-24 February) Thursday 21 February Qabila Short Film Festival in Tahrir Lounge at 5pm Public screenings for the 15 finalists from Egypt, Lebanon, Palestine, Spain and Luxembourg continue this week in several venues in Cairo, Alexandria, Damanhour, Mansoura and Ismailia. The festival aims to showcase young talents in the world of filmmaking and awards prizes in the categories of: Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay and Audience Award. Read morehere. 5 El-Bostan Street, Downtown, Cairo Maghna Khan Band concert in Darb 1718 at 7pm The name Maghna Khan means music shop in colloquial Egyptian dialect from the last century, which is exactly the kind of music this group plays – folkloric tunes. Nashid Al Ansary, Mohamed El Fayed (Mamado) and Nour El Deen founded the band in 2004. Kasr El Shame'e Street, Al Fakhareen, behind the Hanging Church and Amr Mosque, Cairo Yehia Khalil Band in Cairo Opera House at 8pm One of the most established jazz musicians in Egypt, Yehia Khalil, brings his percussion beats and fellow musicians to the Opera House's Small Hall. In this performance he will be accompanied by Atef Abdel Rahman (oriental percussion), Mohamed Sawwah (trumpet- vocal), Wael El-Fashny (percussion – vocal), Mohamed Helmy (piano– vocal), Aly Sharaf (piano – keyboards), Wael El-Saharty (bass guitar), Mohamed Aly (violin – vocal), Aly Shaker (qanoun), Tamer Fathy (guitar). Small Hall, Cairo Opera House, Zamalek, Cairo Swan Lake Ballet at the Cairo Opera House at 8pm The Cairo Opera Ballet Company, with artistic director Erminia Kamel, will perform Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake ballet. Cairo Opera Orchestra will be conducted by Nayer Nagui. This will be the last performance for Swan Lake in Cairo this season. On 26 and 27 February, the ballet will be performed in Alexandria. Read morehere. Cairo Opera House Main Hall, Zamalek, Cairo Wust El-Balad Concert in El Sawy Culturewheel at 8.30pm One of Egypt's most established bands in the "underground" genre, Wust El-Balad holds a concert in promotion of their upcoming album. Famous for hits such as 'Antika' and 'Am Mina' the musicians promise two new songs to be performed in the Culturewheel. Read morehere. 26 July Street, Zamalek, Cairo Friday 22 February Qabila Short Film Festival in Books & Beans at 5pm Public screenings for the 15 finalists from Egypt, Lebanon, Palestine, Spain and Luxembourg continue this week in several venues in Cairo, Alexandria, Damanhour, Mansoura and Ismailia. The festival aims to showcase young talents in the world of filmmaking and awards prizes in the categories of: Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay and Audience Award. Read morehere. 7 Gezirat El-Ward St, in front of the main gate of Gezirat El-Ward Club, Mansoura Poetry, Photoraphy and music in El-Cabina t 7pm El-Cabina Arts Centre, one of the projects of the Gudran Association for Arts and Development, is to host a poetry recital by American poet Andy Young, accompanied by a music concert by Mahmoud Youssef and a photography exhibition by Salwa Rashad. Read morehere. 11 Saint Saba Street, El Raml Station, Alexandria 'InterLAB: Artificial Emotional Intelligence' exhibition in Medrar for Contemporary Art at 9pm This playful, interactive media arts exhibition is a collaboration between Medrar and Kazoosh based in Dresden, Germany. The exhibition, also running on Saturday at 6pm, is part of Open Lab Egypt, a community of media artists and tech enthusiasts experimenting with new media. Read morehere. 7 Gamal El Din Abul Mahasen Street, Garden City, Cairo 'Chaotic Order' by Ahmed Kassim at Safarkhan Art Gallery This second solo painting exhibition by Ahmed Kassim at Safarkhan Gallery, which has been moving closer and closer towards exhibiting works by younger artists, tackles the “Chaotic Order” pervading contemporary Egyptian society. His canvases resemble oversized board games with symbols representing different facets of local culture and politics. Kassim is part of a generation of experimental artists producing groundbreaking, politically charged art that probes reflection over the “game of life.” This is the last day the exhibition will be open. 6 Brazil Street, Zamalek, Cairo Saturday 23 February Cartoon Network's Ben 10 Live in MUST Opera House at 11am and 3pm MUST Opera House is to host a four-day stage performance by Cartoon Network's superstar Ben Tennyson, his cousin Gwen and Grandpa Max. The action-packed show includes Ben's alien heroes Four Arms, Diamondhead, Swampfire, and Big Chill, unleashing their cool powers to save the day. Read more on other performance timeshere. MUST University Opera House, 6th October City International Volunteer Day in Gezira Youth Centre at 2pm The event, organised by United Nations Volunteer celebrates a day dedicated to volunteerism by hosting non-governmental organisations seeking to recruit volunteers and showcase volunteerism success stories. Cairokee band will be performing during the evening. Gezira Youth Centre, Zamalek, Cairo 'What are you Drawing, Drawing?' exhibition opening in Nile Sunset Annex at 7pm This new space, recycled from an empty room of a flat where a few local artists reside, hosts a diverse range of drawings, sketches and doodles by 14 artists and non-artists including: Ganzeer, Khaled Fahmy, Ahmed Shawky, Betty Khoury, Hanaa Safwat, Ahmed Nagy, Shayma Kamel, Adham Bakry, Sarah Rifky, James Wright, Ayman, Mohammed Abdallah, Hady Aboukamar, and research group Take to the Sea. The exhibit is open on Saturdays from 12-6pm or by appointment on other days until 23 March. Flat 17, 4th Floor, 1071 Corniche El Nile, Garden City, Cairo Fathy Salama at the Cairo Opera House at 8pm Fathy Salama, Grammy and BBC award winner performs with his group Sharkiat, mixing jazz with folk and ethnic music and topping it with oriental grooves. Read Ahram Online's interview with Fathy Salamahere. Cairo Opera House grounds, Zamalek, Cairo Sunday 24 February Bellucci Circus next to 6 of October Club at 5pm and 7pm This Italian circus, with its rich story, performs everyday in Cairo until 3 March. Their show includes acrobats, trapeze acts, clown shows, belly dancing and fire hoops, in addition to their animal shows. Read our interview with the troupehere. Big Tent next to 6 of October Club, 6 of October City, Giza 'Black Cat: A Prison Experience' by former culture ministry official Mohsen Shaalan in Gezira Art Centre Former culture ministry official Mohsen Shaalan exhibits his artwork – completed during his recent one-year period in prison under charges of negligence for the infamous incident of the Van Gogh theft. The exhibition runs until 28 February. Read morehere. Gezira Art Centre, 1 Al-Sheikh Al-Marsafi Street, Zamalek, Cairo 'Clouds for Sale' exhibition by Xavier Puigmarti at Mashrabia Gallery Spanish artist Xavier Puigmarti, whose work highlights the effects of technology on the contemporary global society, is inspired by the hyper-connectivity social networks impose on our lives. His latest collection of paintings entitled “Clouds for Sale” is on exhibition this month at Mashrabia gallery. 8 Champollion Street, Downtown, Cairo Egyptian, I am: Solo sculpture exhibition by Maged Mekhail at ArtTalks Gallery A solo sculpture exhibition opens this month at ArtTalks Gallery, showcasing artwork by emerging artist Maged Mekhail. ArtTalks is hunting for Egypt's best up-and-coming artists, and 31-year-old Mekhail made the cut. A student of great sculptor Adam Henein, Mekhail's career has grown over the years. He was awarded the Sculpture Award at the 2011 Youth Salon, organised by the Ministry of Culture. Influenced by Pharonic and Coptic symbols, the artist produces figurative sculptures that tackle the state of our Egyptian identity. The exhibition closes on 25 February. 8 El Kamel Mohamed Street,Zamalek, Cairo 'A Bride and a Horse' exhibition by Assem Abdel Fattah at Al Kahila Art Gallery 'A Bride and a Horse' is made up of a series of vibrant paintings by Assem Abdel Fattah, depicting snapshots of everyday life in Egypt, including breakfast at afoulstreet cart, a farmer's market, and a traditionalqahwaor coffee shop. Abdel Fattah's paintings are brightly coloured and uplifting, and his artwork bears a cubist, neo-expressionist style. The exhibition closes on 28 February. 15 El Batal Ahmed Abdel Aziz Street, Mohandessin, Giza Follow Arts and Culture updates on Twitter:@AhramOnlineArtsand on our Facebook page:Ahram Online: Arts and Culture http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/65200.aspx
