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Egypt's cultural picks of the week, 15-22 December: VIDEOS From film screenings to music and exhibitions, this week has an assortment of events on offer to audiences in Cairo and Alexandria. Check our recommendations for 15 to 22 December
Sunday 15 December Last day of Brain Damage: Collective exhibition at Darb 1718 A collective exhibition entitled Brain Damage opened 16 November at the Darb 1718 Contemporary Art and Culture Centre. The show features artwork by a group of emerging artists (Amro Okacha, Fady Galal, Fajr Soliman, Ghadir Wagdy, Haytham Sherif, Maghraffiti, Mohamed Khaled, and Razan Saeed) working under the umbrella of Wust El-Balad Studio, an art incubator born after the January 25 Revolution to support young artists. Exhibition closes 15 December. Qasr Al-Shamee Street, Al-Fakhareen, Old Cairo (Behind the Hanging Church and Amr Ibn Al-As Mosque) Screening of ‘El Sistema' at the Faculty of Music Education at 5pm Part of the ‘Music: Together We Uplift' programme, Venezuelan film ‘El Sistema' (2008) will be shown Sunday. The film depicts a child/youth orchestra project and how it impacted the lives of over 250,000 Venezuelan children from impoverished areas. The 'Music: Together We Uplift' programme screens films that look into music as tool for development that can enrich the lives of millions, spurring social transformation through culture that highlights positive values and fun. Watch the trailer below. 27 Ismail Mohamed Street (at the corner of Shagaret El-Dorr Street), Zamalek, Cairo 'Once Upon a Time Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow' at El-Dammah Theatre (El-Mastaba), 7pm The theatre piece 'Once Upon a Time Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow,' directed by multidisciplinary Iranian-Egyptian artist Sabry Zekry, will be performed in cultural venues across Egypt this month. The performance, which is being supported by the Culture Resource's (Al-Mawred Al-Thakafy) Production Awards Programme, will take place at five venues in Cairo and one in Minya governorate. Read morehere. 30 El-Balaqsah Street, Abdeen, Downtown, Cairo Christmas Carols with the Sphinx Orchestra at Cairo Opera House, 8pm The Sphinx Orchestra, conducted by Hany Hassan, and St Mark's Choir will perform Christmas Carols. Choir Master: George Latif. Check our listings of Christmas concerts in Cairo and Alexandria here. Small Hall, Cairo Opera House, Zamalek, Cairo Monday 16 December Annual Christmas concert at the Cairo Opera House, 8pm This annual concert of the Cairo Celebration Choir (CCC) and artists from the Cairo Opera Company has become an annual tradition of the Cairo Opera House. The concerts have taken place since the CCC's inception in 1999, when conductor Nayer Nagui first brought together a group of 70amateur singers to sing with soloists from the Cairo Opera Company, alongside the Cairo Opera Orchestra at its first Christmas concert, performing a list of the most well-known Christmas songs, which Nagui had arranged. Check our listings of Christmas concerts in Cairo and Alexandria here. Main Hall, Cairo Opera House, Zamalek, Cairo Screening of ‘The Time that Remains' in Vent, 8.30pm Palestinian film ‘The Time that Remains' will screen at the new culture space in Downtown Cairo dubbed Vent. The semi-biographical 2009 feature is directed by Elia Suleiman and stars the director along with Ali Suleiman and Saleh Bakry. The film gives an account from the time of the establishment of the State of Israel from 1948 until the present. Drinks and food will be served during the screening. Watch the trailer below. 6 Kasr El-Nil Street, Downtown, Cairo Also on this day: - 'Once Upon a Time Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow' at 7pm. Check detailshere. Tuesday 17 December Screening of ‘Soweto Strings' at the Faculty of Music Education at 5pm A documentary that focuses on a British viola player's adventure in Soweto, where she helps poor children and youth deal with life's hardships through music education as they learn to play Bach, Mozart, Bartok and pieces by other composers. The event is part of the ‘Music: Together We Uplift' programme that screens films which look into music as tool for development that can enrich the lives of millions, spurring social transformation through culture that highlights positive values and fun. Read more about ‘Soweto Strings' and the 'Music: Together We Uplift' programmehere. 27 Ismail Mohamed Street (at the corner of Shagaret El-Dorr Street), Zamalek, Cairo Opening of ‘Freedom' exhibition by Bassam Al-Zoghby at Gezira Art Centre, 7pm Bassam Al-Zoghby is considered one of the most renowned photojournalists in Egypt and is specialised in arts and culture. Al-Zoghby will exhibit works that play with light and movement, capturing stage performers in Egypt. Al-Zoghby is one of Al-Ahram Organisation's photographers and provides a large body of his work for Ahram Online. 1 Sheikh Marsafy Street, next to the Marriott Hotel, Zamalek, Cairo Screening of 'Nouvo Cinema Paradiso' in Doum Cultural Foundation, 7.30pm The 1988 production by director Guiseppe Tornatore shows a filmmaker as he recalls his childhood when he fell in love with movies at his village's theatre, forming a deep friendship with the theatre's projectionist. Watch the trailer below. 13 Al-Fardos Street, Agouza, Giza ‘Night Blindness' and ‘Al-Ostaz' plays in Falaki Theatre at 8pm Independent theatre company The Caravan Theatre Troupe presents two works on Falaki's stage for three consecutive nights (Tuesday, 16 December, Wednesday, 17 December and Thursday, 18 December). ‘Night Blindness' depicts “sensitive and evocative images” of youth, where they reveal their “disillusioned life and search for the strength to change,” while ‘Al Ostaz' is an interrogation of a theatre director after the fall of the regime. The play “delineates the confrontation between culture and power, between art and politics, between irresponsible freedom and responsible compromise.” American University in Cairo, Falaki Campus, Downtown, Cairo Also on this day: - Annual Christmas concert at the Cairo Opera House, 8pm. Check Monday 16 December listings for details. - 'Once Upon a Time Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow' at 7pm. Check detailshere. Wednesday 18 December Talk on prevailing art themes during Nasser era at ArtTalks, 6.30pm Author Patrick Kane will be on hand at ArtTalks Gallery to discuss art trends in Egypt from the Nasser era to the present, ideas drawn from his most recent book, The Politics of Art in Modern Egypt: Aesthetics, Ideology and Nation-building. Kane's book, published in February, discusses the rise of significant art movements in Egypt, such as surrealism and the Contemporary Art Group, and the context of political and social conflict that influenced art and cultural production in the country from the 1920s to the 1960s. 8 Al-Kamel Mohamed Street, Zamalek, Cairo 'Cut and Paste': Huda Lutfi's exhibition at the Townhouse Gallery, Cairo In celebration of the Townhouse Gallery's 15-year anniversary, 'Cut and Paste' showcases politically and emotionally charged works by prominent contemporary artist Huda Lutfi. The display is one of three exhibitions marking the Townhouse Gallery's 15 years in existence. The two other exhibitions are 'Freedom is Coming' by Lara Baladi, and 'Social Security,' an experimental collective working space for emerging artists. Read a review of 'Cut and Paste' here. Exhibition runs until 8 January 2014. 10 Nabrawy Street, off Champollion Street, Downtown, Cairo ## Also on this day: - 'Night Blindness' and ‘Al-Ostaz' at Falaki Theatre at 8pm. Check Tuesday 17 December listings for details. - 'Once Upon a Time Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow' at 7pm. Check detailshere. Thursday 19 December Thursday Market at Gezazy Shop, all day Gezazy Shop has long been known for recycling old bottles and glasses into artistic lighting solutions for houses and offices. The shop hosts a flea market every Thursday for people so sell old things and their handmade products. The market is on from 1pm until 10pm. 250 Street, between the Arab Square and Bank Misr (behind Maadi Grant Mall), Maadi, Cairo ## Also on this day: - 'Night Blindness' and ‘Al-Ostaz' at Falaki Theatre at 8pm. Check Tuesday 17 December listings for details. - 'Once Upon a Time Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow' at 7pm. Check detailshere. Friday 20 December Christmas with the Cairo Symphony Orchestra at Cairo Opera House, 8pm Conducted by Jiri Petrdlik, The Cairo Symphony Orchestra will perform Haydn'sSymphony No26 in D minor, 'Lamentation,' Mozart's 'Adagio and Fugue for Strings in C minor,' 'Laudate Dominum' from 'Vesperae Solennes de Confessore'for soprano and orchestra, Motet 'Exsultate jubilate' for soprano and orchestra, and Handel's 'Music for the Royal Fireworks.' The soloists of the evening will be Spanish soprano Laura Alonso Padín and Zafar Asimov on trombone. The same concert will be repeated in Alexandria on Saturday, 21 December. Main Hall, Cairo Opera House, Zamalek, Cairo Madd w Gazr musical theatre performance in Rawabet Theatre, 8pm Madd w Gazr(High Tide, Low Tide) is the second half ofFantasia El-Lagna (Fantasy of the Checkpoint) which the company produced in 2009. The performance is based on the real life stories of group members, and features musical numbers. It is directed by Salam Yousry. Established in 2002, Al-Tamye has been seeking to explore alternative means of expression of the realities of living in Egypt and the Arab world using scenography, poetry, music, video art among others. The performance will be repeated on Saturday, 21 December, and is part of the ‘Independent Combo' series of performances at Rawabet this month. Read more here and watch the trailer below. 3 Hussein Al-Meamar Street, off Mahmoud Bassiouny Street, Downtown, Cairo Saturday 21 December Christmas with the Cairo Symphony Orchestra at Alexandria Opera House, 8pm Conducted by Jiri Petrdlik, The Cairo Symphony Orchestra will perform Haydn'sSymphony No26in D minor, 'Lamentation,' Mozart's 'Adagio and Fugue for Strings in C minor,' 'Laudate Dominum'from 'Vesperae Solennes de Confessore'for soprano and orchestra, Motet 'Exsultate jubilate' for soprano and orchestra, and Handel's 'Music for the Royal Fireworks.' The soloists of the evening will be Spanish soprano Laura Alonso Padín and Zafar Asimov on trombone. 22 El-Horreya Road (formerly known as Fouad Street), El-Raml Station, Alexandria Music of the Andes Mountains at the Cairo Opera House, 8pm El Barbero del Socorro, a trio from Colombia, will perform the traditional music of the Andes Mountains. The trio has travelled across the world taking the music of the Andes to the most renowned auditoriums and festivals. Members of El Barbero del Socorro are Colombian/Spanish tiple player Ricardo Varela Villalba; Colombian Edwin Castañeda Gonzáles, also a tiple player; and Venezuelan Carlos Manuel Acosta de Lima. Read more here and watch El Barbero del Socorro perform in 2011 (video from YouTube). Small Hall, Cairo Opera House, Zamalek, Cairo Also on this day: -Madd w Gazr musical theatre performance in Rawabet Theatre at 8pm. Check Friday 20 December listings for more details. Sunday 22 December BA Orchestra to perform works by Rageh Daoud at Bibliotheca Alexandrina, 8pm Bibliotheca Alexandrina (BA) Orchestra will perform works by an contemporary Egyptian composer Rageh Daoud. The orchestra will be conducted by Daoud himself. Soloists of the evening are Ines Abdel Dayem on flute, Hany El-Badey on nay, Mamdouh El-Gibaly on oud and Saber Abdel Sattar on qanoun. Rageh Samy Daoud represents third generation of the Egyptian composers. He composed many classical music works and music for many feature and documentary movies, along with TV dramas. Listen to Daoud's '25 of January Martyrs' below. Bibliotheca Alexandrina Conference Hall, Great Hall, Shatby, Alexandria "WHY" exhibition at ArtTalks Nadine Hammam's fourth Solo Exhibition 'WHY' opened 10 December in Zamalek's ArtTalks and features her signature style of mixed media using multi-layered, strong-coloured acrylic paints and words spelled out in shattered mirrors on canvas. Hammam uses the words "Love," "Forever," "Passion," "Yes," "Kiss," "Lust" and "Desire." According to the artist, these are elements and emotions in a relationship that once broken, much like a mirror, cannot be fixed. They have to evolve into a new structure. 'WHY' runs through 15 January 2014. Read our review of the exhibition here. 8 Al-Kamel Mohamed Street, Zamalek, Cairo ------------- Follow Arts and Culture updates on Twitter:@AhramOnlineArtsand on our Facebook page:Ahram Online: Arts and Culture http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/89111.aspx
