When Agora was launched in February 2011, it was no accident that this Greek word was chosen, which means a public space for gathering or assembling. The agora of ancient Athens was at the heart of Athenian lives, serving as a place where artisans, merchants, landowners and citizens could gather together to carry out trade, hear statements from the ruling council, or for social activities. The ancient Greek agora is different from the Agora in Alexandria, but the principle is similar. “The Egyptian version is a cultural institution providing an outlet for the creative community that involves three aspects, education, production and the dissemination of the arts and culture,” Reem Kassem, Founding Director of Agora, told Al-Ahram Weekly. “Agora has two parallel programmes — the arts for economic development and the arts for social development. Its main goal is to help serve the community by carrying out social, educational and cultural activities and programmes.” Reem, just 27 years old, has been the sole director of Agora, one of the largest community-based initiatives in the city, for more than three years now. She joined the Bibliotheca Alexandrina Arts Centre in 2003, and in 2010 became head of performing arts programming. In 2011, she established Agora, an independent organisation, having studied arts and management at the DeVos Institute of Arts Management at the John F. Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts in the US and she is currently a Chevening scholar following the Clore Leadership Programme. “Start with Yourself” was the first programme Agora launched in 2011, right after the 25 January Revolution. Its objective was to promote self-expression through art and to reduce violence through arts appreciation. The programme is now run as an annual event, and since 2011 many popular bands have taken part, including Massar Egbari (winner of a UNESCO award), Wasla, Shewarena, Karakeeb, Oaqar Ezala, Mashrou3 Al-Marikh, and many more. Handicrafts exhibitions containing more than 40 exhibitors have presented handicrafts made from various materials, such as copper, wire, leather, fabric, and glass, and the festival also hosts a Go Green Workshop in which students learn scientific and educational concepts through fun and enjoyment. Via this approach, called ESD, or Education for Sustainable Development, the students and Agora volunteers learn about different approaches to sustainable development that could be carried out on a larger scale. One of the major projects Agora conducted in 2012 was an Arabic calligraphy exhibition curated by Rana Ghazi and Mai Essam where artists taught participants from Alexandria the art of Arabic calligraphy. In collaboration with the British Council, an exhibition was held after a ten-day workshop programme, and this displayed some 200 art pieces in two exhibitions in Cairo and Alexandria. “I have always loved making accessories. I even tried to buy materials from the Mansheya district in Alexandria, like pearls and other things, the intention being to make things and sell them. However, money was always a problem, so when Agora provided materials and taught us how to make things I was over the moon about participating in the project,” Shadia Ibrahim, 23, said. “I have now opened a modest business based upon accessories featuring Arabic calligraphy that women find interesting and unique to wear,” she added. More than 50 per cent of the participants have now been able to establish a reliable source of income. Success follows success, and from the calligraphy project the Green Crafts Project was born. More than 60 women and children from communities in Alexandria participated in the project, held in 2013. The idea was to try to turn waste items into home accessories and jewelry, with Passante Abdel-Hafiz and Rana Ghazi acting as coordinators of the project in the Al-Haramein district of Alexandria, one of the poorest areas in the city. With the help of Ashanek Ya Balady, a local NGO, Agora was able to identify participants and give them skills that could help them find livelihoods. 60 women were taught how to use cans, cans tops, and old wooden pencils to create jewelry. “We were able to turn plastic bottles into colourful vases and all kinds of home accessories,” commented Om Ahmed, 53, one of the participants. “I even trained my daughters to make use of everything they think of as waste and turn it into something else.” The project workshops resulted in multiple exhibitions where the products were sold. In addition to the activities, awareness of environmental issues was spread and of the need for creative skills to be used for smart and sustainable growth. “In 2014, Agora will carry out multiple activities with underprivileged communities,” Kassem said. “We intend to focus on women and children, for example by working on green crafts in schools in Borg Al-Arab.” “After this, our work with street girls will start with copper wire crafting workshops followed by musical instrument making workshops using recycling material. In the second half of the year, work with disabled persons will start with the My Audio Book project, which entails turning old history books into audio CDs accompanied by music,” she concluded. The writer is a freelance journalist.
