“Tribute” is the simple title of a unique exhibition now open at Gallery Art Corner, Zamalek, dedicated to the late cartoonist Samir Abdel-Khaleq, who worked for many years for the daily newspaper Al-Gomhuria. Organised by Samir Abdel-Ghani, a popular cartoonist who publishes regularly in Al-Masry Al-Youm, the exhibition includes work by prominent artists such as Essmat Dawestachy, George Bahgory, Mohammed Abla as well as prominent cartoonists like Mostafa Hussein and Mohammed Effat. A unique exhibition in a small gallery: its revenues will go towards supporting the late Abdel-Khaleq's family. It was organised on Abdel-Ghany's initiative, under the auspices of the Egyptian Society for Caricature (ESC). “The idea jumped into my head last Ramadan, after the sudden death of Abdel-Khaleq. I decided to call on prominent artists to donate their paintings. I also wanted the exhibition to reflect a variety of artistic trends and not be restricted to caricature,” Abdel-Ghany says. “The reaction I got from artists was amazing. Around 60 of them were willing to help, and they even agreed to cooperate in a yearly exhibition whose revenue should go to the benefit of the ESC. I started looking for a suitable place for the exhibition, and it was only logical to start looking for a gallery attached to the Ministry of Culture.” Abdel-Ghany's endeavors with the Ministry of Culture failed, however, because “they did not care about the idea, and then they gave us a small gallery for only four days, and we could not run the exhibition last year because of the violent events downtown.” But he was far from giving up: “I finally got a very warm welcome from the Art Corner Gallery, to hold this exhibition for three weeks. And here we are, enjoying the success of this voluntary initiative.” The exhibition does reflect various trends, which makes the short tour inside the gallery even longer, as you return to certain paintings to figure out the links between it and others. Caricatures are few, but they lend the exhibition a special spirit, especially the two paintings by Effat, featuring the beauty of the Egyptian alleyway. Part of the revenue will also go to the benefit of the ESC, headed by veteran cartoonist Ahmad Toghan. “The ESC has long suffered from a lack of financial support from the Ministry of Culture; we don't have a budget to allow us to run a respectable web site, or to publish our magazine on a regular basis,” Abdel-Ghany laments. The ESC was established in 1984 by veteran cartoonists Abdel-Moneim Rakha and Zohdy Al-Adawy, who presided over its board until 1990, when the celebrated cartoonist Mostafa Hussein took over. Caricature magazine, the sole publication of its kind in Egypt, was first published in 1990. It started as a weekly magazine, and it gained huge popularity. A few years ago, the magazine, with no budget or advertising revenues, the board decided that the magazine should be published on a monthly basis, and sadly enough, since the revolution it has not appeared at all. According to Abdel-Ghany, the number of active and prominent cartoonists in Egypt is around 20, out of nearly 100 registered members of the ESC: a very small number compared to the huge number of artists working and exhibiting in Egypt. Cartoonists were once the throbbing heart of any civilised country, its conscience and its sarcastic voice. The irony is that the ESC is almost completely ignored by both official cultural organisations and businessmen. Adding insult to injury, there are not enough vacancies in newspapers to absorb the number of cartoonists, Abdel-Ghany says: “In addition, caricature exhibitions are rarely held, whether by state or private galleries.” El-Sawy Culturewheel is an exception, since it has held a number of successful caricature exhibitions before it suspend this sudden awakening when a clash erupted with the young female cartoonist Samah Farouk, who mocked Mohammed El-Sawy, the owner of El-Sawy Culturewheel, in one of her solo exhibitions there. Caricature will never lose its popularity, Abdel-Ghany argues. “Cartoonists are still the most sincere voice in society, but we should not pay the price of the deteriorating economic situation.” Abdel-Ghany, who participated last year in a three-week scholarship to the United States together with another eight cartoonists from different Arab countries, says “caricature museums are established in almost every state; it was amazing to find out that much research was devoted to studying the history and development of caricature in most of the universities we visited. Businessmen are also aware of their duty to donate money to help develop caricature museums and caricature societies”. Private and state publishing houses avoid publishing catalogues on cartoonists. Even veteran cartoonists such as Hegazi and Salah El-Lithy are not in print. “It is really depressing that veteran cartoonists are ignored even after their death,” Abdel-Ghany says. “Publishers believe that a caricature book is not a book that will sell, which is insane.” Abdel-Ghany continued his assault on the Ministry of Culture, arguing that works by Egypt's prominent cartoonists should not be left in newspapers' archives in a deteriorating state. “A national museum should be dedicated to the work of all generations of cartoonists,” he said with a sad smile, “before the rates eat away this national treasure.”
