Since the beginning of World War II, the Armenian photographer Van-Leo photographed Egyptian stars: artists, poets, cabaret entertainers and Western visitors. All were drawn to his studio by the lure of his glamorous portraits, by the implicit promise to be photographed in the highly stylised, theatrical manner of Hollywood movie stars of the 1920s and 1930s. Van-Leo's work, which includes portraits of Taha Hussein, Omar El-Sherif, Farid Al-Attrash, Mariam Fakhreddin, Mohamed Abdel-Wahab, Dalida, Youssef El-Sebaai and Roshdi Abaza as well as unique views of Cairo and the Pyramids, will be on display at the American University in Cairo Photographic Gallery, in cooperation with the Rare Books and Special Collections Library. The Photographic Gallery will also display some of his memorabilia including correspondence, camera equipment and personal effects. What makes this exhibition unique is that Van-Leo's wide oeuvre has never before been shown in one place: his commercial and advertising work, weddings, foreign travel, Egyptian antiquity sites, Cairo streets, even passport and ID photographs. This allows the viewer to understand the full scope of his work. The American University in Cairo has been the custodian of Van-Leo's collection since he bequeathed it to the Rare Books and Special Collections Library. ( see Listings p.19 ) photos: Abdel-Hamid Eid Egyptian fashion designer Mahmoud Ghali presented his collection for spring and autumn 2012 at the City Stars InterContinental Hotel -- in the presence of a bevy of celebrities and public figures such as actress Ola Rami and her son Omar Khorshid, former Miss Egypt Heba El-Sisi and her sister, artists Heba Magdi and Safaa Tageddin. The final collection of gowns were shown by Miss Beauty of the Arabs Lamis El-Tanbouli. Ghali announced that the revenue of the fashion show would be donated in full to the families of victims of the Port Said massacre. In the framework of celebrating the anniversary of El Sawy Culturewheel, the Iraqi oud virtuoso Nasseer Shamma gave a thrilling concert, playing a selection of his best-known compositions. On stage, Shamma was warmly received by founder of the Culturewheel Mohamed El-Sawy, who greeted him with a bouquet of flowers. A group of Cairo Opera House artists, officials and workers organised a party at a hotel in the vicinity of the Opera House grounds to bid the former director of the Opera House Abdel-Moneim Kamel farewell. Kamel 's tremendous achievement at the opera as a ballet dancer, stage director and opera director, it was repeatedly said, will be remembered forever. Among those present was the newly appointed director of the Opera House, flautist Inas Abdel-Dayem, as well as tenor Reda El-Wakil, choreographer Walid Aouni, and the maestros Nayier Nagui and Abdel-Hamid Abdel-Ghaffar. Kamel was given an award of recognition at the end. After extensive research carried out by Forbes Middle East magazine, the American University in Cairo's MBA programme, which started more than three decades ago, was ranked first among similar programmes in 37 private universities in the Arab world. "We are very happy to be ranked as the top MBA programme in the region, and we look forward to continuous improvement and success," said Sherif Kamel, dean of the School of Business. "Apart from adding to the reputation of the programme, such ranking will benefit our students, as they will become more visible on the global market." Forbes Middle East magazine issued its rankings of MBA programmes in the region based on the number of concentrations, cost, length and accreditation. The American University of Sharjah came in second, followed by the Canadian University of Dubai, while Mansoura University was ranked first among national universities in the region. World-renowned British singer, composer and lyricist Sami Youssef was welcomed at El Sawy Culturewheel on Monday at a seminar organised to publicise the World Food programme. The seminar is part of Youssef 's campaign to support the United Nations World Food programme. On the 21st anniversary of the foundation of Al-Ahram Weekly, the staff commemorated the occasion with a wonderful pot dish party in which colleagues competed to display their culinary talents and outdo each other in gourmet dishes. It was a sumptuous lunch that lasted well into the evening. Mercifully none of those present was rushed to hospital but most complained of not being able to focus on work for the rest of the day. Still, as always, the staff managed miraculously to produce this issue as best as they could, and in spite of the social and political developments the staff is obliged to cover, putting on a brave face and remaining optimistic and upbeat. Enjoy with pleasure.
