In December 1998, the Townhouse Gallery opened its first exhibition in four rooms on the first floor of a residential building in downtown Cairo. Since then, it has grown to occupy three floors in the main building (housing a main gallery space, the city's first open-stacks contemporary art library and studios for international resident artists); converted a neglected paper factory into one of the city's largest cultural spaces; turned an unused industrial space into one of the country's most important platforms for performance art; and built the rooftop studios to provide working space for dozens of Cairo-based artists — all while running outreach programmes serving thousands of individuals. Fifteen years and over 100 exhibitions later, this December Townhouse marks this landmark anniversary with three exhibitions to celebrate the artists that are integral to its history and who will continue to shape its identity in years to come. These include two solo shows: Huda Lutfi's “Cut and Paste” in the Factory Space, and Lara Baladi's “Freedom is Coming” in the Rawabet Annex. Lutfi and Baladi first showed together in the Townhouse's fourth exhibition, “Four Egyptian Women” (March, 1999), and since then both have gone on to establish acclaimed international careers. In the First Floor Gallery, “Social Security” is a very different type of exhibition that reaffirms the gallery's commitment to supporting emerging artists, cultural practitioners and initiatives. The First Floor has been converted into studio spaces for visual artists, graphic designers and filmmakers for a month-long residency throughout December, during which they will use the space as a platform for collaboratively developing alternative forms of fundraising and new tactics for sustainability. (see Listings p.20)
