Dr Ibrahim El-Fishawy, Urologist M.D. exhibited his thrilling collection of paintings at Extra Gallery in Zamalek, last Monday. The exhibition was inaugurated by renowned veteran Morsi Saad El-Din, the widely knowledgeable man of a refined tender nature that renders him in possession of many artistic tendencies. The attendees of the exhibition included, among others, Dr Saad El-Fishawy, counsellor and legal advisor at the World Bank, Washington DC, Dr Roshdy El-Fishawy, El-Fishawy 's sister Amany, his wife dentist Wafaa Maurice and his children Monica and Youssef, and Moushira Abdel-Malek, wife of Al-Ahram Weekly 's late Founding Editor-in-Chief Hosny Guindy. El-Fishawy swayed us all among 14 thrilling line- drawing paintings expressing figures watching from over balconies, a nostalgic scene from the past, before technology's invasion of the mind and soul of people. Here the artist portrays his idea of each painting with a minimal of line-drawing. Then he varies his colours between black and white, and shifting to riotous colours in others. El-Fishawy suddenly surprises us with four other paintings in graphic art, portraying girls reading, or enjoying the beach. Then with a swift, intelligent, twist of methods, he enchants us with 12 water-colour paintings that convey the artist's intellectual and philosophical outlook towards his themes that include landscaping, abstract sketches of the male and female body unity, in lines fully integrated together, forming one body in subtle details. His colours here create an aura of comfort, which carries the viewer to romantic realms, that are sorely missed in today's art. This is one exhibition that should not be missed. It is on through the 31st of this month. French Ambassador to Egypt Jean Félix Paganon hosted a lavish party at the French Embassy in Giza, on the occasion of celebrating Frence National Day on 14 July. Some 2,000 high-profile guests from different na tionalities attended. Paganon delivered a speech welcoming his guests and praised Egyptian-French relations and the successful cooperation between the two countries. The coterie of personalities included British Ambassador to Egypt Dominic Asquith and his wife, Minister of State for Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Moufid Shehab, Minister of State for Family and Population Mushira Khattab, Minister of Higher Education and of State for Scientific Research Hani Hilal, Minister of State for Administrative Development Ahmed Darwish, Luxor Governor Samir Farag, former foreign minister Ahmed Maher and media counsellor at the French Embassy Ahmed Fadel. The Latin American-Egyptian Association (LAEA) held a grand reception at the Automobile and Touring Club of Egypt on the occasion of bidding farewell to Chile's Ambassador to Egypt Gabriel De Zepeda. Minister of Local Development and LAEA head Mustafa Abdel-Qader conferred a certificate of excellence and the association's shield to De Zepeda. He applauded the strengthening of relations between Egypt and Chile. The reception was attended by a bevy of Latin American ambassadors as well as LAEA Vice- President Fathi Youssef. Al-Gomhouriya Theatre witnessed the launch of the first annual comedy festival under the title "Week of Laughter", presided over by theatre producer Samir Khafagi. The festival was an initiative on behalf of head of the Egyptian Actors' Union Ashraf Zaki who gave a speech at the beginning of the ceremony, conveying his happiness in commencing the festival. The first round of the festival was dedicated to late veteran theatre figure Naguib El-Rihani. The festival honoured a galaxy of theatre favourites, including late writer Mahmoud El-Saadani, late comedian Abdallah Farghali, exceptionally talented comedians George Sidhom and Said Saleh, comedian Soheir El-Barouni, comedy actors El-Montasser Billah, Mahmoud El-Qalaawi and Fouad Khalil. The ceremony was attended by a plethora of celebrities including theatre diva Samiha Ayoub, veteran actress Nadia Lotfi, theatre director Hassan Abdel-Salam, actresses Ragaa El-Geddawi and Dalal Abdel-Aziz, writer Louise Geriss and media figure Wagdi El-Hakim. The Champollion Rotary Club (CRC) held a prestigious reception to appoint its new president. Attendees enjoyed the spectacular atmosphere of Tamari restaurant overlooking the Nile, where former CRC president Manon Choucha handed over authority to Nahed Tadros who was elected for the year 2010-2011. The reception was packed with CRC members and society ladies active in voluntary work The Citadel Capital Scholarship Foundation (CCSF) hosted a prominent reception at the Four Seasons Hotel on the occasion of honouring 20 recipients in its fourth annual round. The CCSF grants full academic scholarships to talented young Egyptian men and women to pursue graduate degrees at world-class international institutions. Eighteen of this year's recipients are undertaking masters' degree level studies, while two are studying at the doctoral level. Chairman of the CCSF Board of Trustees Nabil El-Arabi said, "the CCSF has assisted more than 70 of Egypt's most talented and promising students to achieve their potential over the past three years. We're delighted to offer this opportunity to 20 students again in 2010." Scholarship recipients must accept the sole condition of returning to Egypt to work after graduation. Recipients have studied a variety of disciplines including filmmaking, anthropology, art, human rights, law, business, engineering, architecture, development and medicine. Chairman and CCSF founder Ahmed Heikal stated: "Citadel Capital created the scholarship foundation as a permanent opportunity for Egyptian students to have access to the world's elite universities, including Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, Oxford and Cambridge." Last Saturday, the opening ceremony of the fifth Egyptian National Theatre Festival, presided over by Ashraf Zaki, took place at the Cairo Opera House. The jury committee, chaired by the head of the Acting and Directing Department at the High Institute for Theatrical Arts, Hani Mutawei, included veteran writers Khairi Shalabi, Louise Geriss and Mahmoud El-Toukhi, directors Ahmed Abdel-Halim and Fahmi El-Khouli, actress Soheir El-Morshedi and critic Mohamed El-Refaei. On the first day of the festival, the jury committee watched three theatrical performances: Arak Al-Balah (Date Spirits); Naema produced by Al-Hanager Art Centre; and Lesa Fi Amal (There's Still Hope), starring actress Ghada Ibrahim and singer-cum- actor Sameh Youssri. In a dazzling celebration at the Media Production City in 6 October governorate, Donia Hamed Sultan was crowned Miss Egypt 2010, while Sarah El-Khouli, Asmaa Abdel-Mawgoud and Mira Khalil came in as first, second and third runners-up. The jury committee included media figures Hala Hashish and Mona Serag, scriptwriter Tamer Habib, Emad Michelle, Nadal Bashar, Maha Daniel, Hisham Abul-Ela, former Miss Egypt Yara Naoum, Tunisian actress Dorra and Khaled Fadda. The crowns were designed by member of the International Organisation for Elegance Mahmoud Haridy, while the ceremony was directed by Khaled Shabana and organised by Youssef Spahi..
