Sarah Carr goes illegitimate In the extended family of Cairo neighbourhoods, Mohandiseen is the glamorous, high-rolling cousin who pretends her illegitimate children do not exist. You need only cross certain, invisible dividing lines, however, for the giant concrete skyscrapers, sprawling neon highways and estival Arab tourists to disappear, suddenly to be replaced by Bantustans of donkeys and tuk-tuk filled poverty. The contrast is as striking, as immediate, as Cinderella's midnight. Take the bridge at the Sudan Street, end of Gamaat El-Dowal, for example, and you will find yourself suddenly in one such area: Ard El-Lewa by name, a maze of criss- crossing streets and tightly-packed grey concrete blocs whose poverty is obvious not so much by what is visible, but by what is missing. The streets are noticeably cleaner than in other areas of Cairo, but unmade; the children playing boisterously are seemingly happy, but barefoot. Tucked away in these streets is Artellewa, a visual arts space created three months ago by artist Hamdy Reda, himself a son of Ard El-Lewa, and the German Verena Liebel. The converted 2.5 m_ workshop open to the street serves as the exhibition area on the ground floor. It is currently showing "Human Being", a collection of photographs by Hany Gowely. While I enjoyed the exhibition, I was more intrigued by the Artellewa project itself -- particularly why its creators should choose to locate it so far from the traditional haunt of Cairo's independent art scene, Downtown, and in such isolation risk condemning it to obscurity. Reda says the location was a deliberate choice: Artellewa's creators wanted to avoid Downtown and Zamalek, which are already saturated with galleries and cultural centres, and instead serve a different audience, the residents of Ard El-Lewa, for whom art is rather a luxury. The space is a vehicle for cultural education, offering, in addition to exhibitions, lectures and film screenings on the topic of the exhibition showing, 'meet the artist' opportunities, independent Arab and foreign film screenings on Artellewa's rooftop space and jamming sessions bringing together professional and amateur musicians. Support and training is offered to burgeoning local artists in the form of Egyptian and foreign artist- led workshops where Ard El-Lewa's children and young people are taught photography, film making, video animation and painting. An open atelier is available to young artists during the summer break, and every year one young Egyptian artist is given the opportunity to hold a first exhibition in the space. Musicians perform at each opening. Artellewa is clearly driven by a passion for art and commitment to widening the artistic horizons of the Ard El-Lewa community, and succeeds in fulfilling both objectives without compromising on either. Viewing art in the tiny exhibition area as the sounds of the street float in from outside is a unique if odd experience, which gives a sense of connection with the local community. The Artellewa office-flat, in which Reda lives, is worth a visit for his own amazing artwork lining the walls. It would be unfortunate if Artellewa's relatively out of the way location had the effect of deterring potential visitors unwilling to make the trek through the neighbourhood's labyrinthine streets. One can only hope that as its reputation grows, more visitors will be prepared to cross the divide to witness what is in fact an excellent project. Why, in a city full of music and young people, are there so few bands performing original material? The question posed itself yet again on Friday evening when I found myself watching 4 Stix in action at the Sawy Cultural Wheel, in an audience composed almost exclusively of the AUC graduating class of 2012. The band itself delivered a workaday if enthusiastic performance distinguished only by lead singer Waleed Mansour's strong vocals. The set was predictably eclectic and drawn mostly from the play list of a traditional British pub band, including the mandatory No Woman No Cry, complete with backing singers swaying in a synchronised Rita Marley manner. T-shirts and other goodies were dispensed to the crowd who were in raptures, but it was an altogether disconcerting experience to watch Armani-clad pre- pubescent youngsters rocking out to Blue Suede Shoes. While it is clear that there exists both a strong interest in rock/pop music and talented individuals with the musical ability to knock out covers, something appears to go wrong in the creative process when it comes to original music. As a result the music "scene" is limited to bands such as the dormant Track 6 and the omnipresent Westelbalad, both of which perform original material, and a plethora of cover bands who ensure that Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Dire Straits will live on and on and on in Cairo. Human Being is showing at Artellewa until 12 April; artellewa.blogspot.com.
