Rania Khallaf moved around the Mediterranean and inhaled some artistic breath Hosted by Al-Azhar Park, an art exhibition taking place from 21 to 23 November is lining up Cairo, Paris and Athens on an axis dubbed the "Mediterranean Line". The show displays artworks by several Egyptian, French and Greek artists, and its aim is to illustrate some of the common values that led these three cultures so closely to resemble one another. The project is the outcome of a meeting of two women: Sylvie Blanchet Kartsonas, French architect, interior designer and art curator, and Ragaa Mansour, Egyptian artist and collector. "The aim was to encourage artists and ordinary citizens to exchange their cultures and go beyond globalisation matters," Kartsonas says. At the gallery, amateurs -- in the respectable, old-fashioned sense of the word -- of art, culture, history and civilisation wander round and view the works of Egyptian artists such as Adel El-Siwi, Faten El-Nawawi, Hayam Abdel-Baki, Shawki Ezzat, Reda Abdel-Rahman, Assem Sharaf, Mohamed Abla and Dina El-Gharib, as well as several French artists: Corinne de Battista, Valérie Gho, Patrice Benassy, Catherine Vigier and Xavier Desprès. Also on show are the works of six Greek artists: Giorgos Krallis, Christos Kechagioglou, Anastasia Katsidis, Lazaros Maravas, Stephania Mizara and Dimitris Tiniakos. Encouraged by the final declaration of the Paris Summit held on 13 July with the co-presidency of France and Egypt, which mentions the cultural objectivities of "Promotion of the intercultural dialog and the mutual understanding" and "Translation of the process in concrete and more obvious to citizens' projects", Kartsonas believes that "this original exhibition that takes place for the first time in Cairo will contribute to pave the way for a better understanding of the Mediterranean Basin in the cultural sector, a field that carries many similarities." According to Kartsonas, this new project, called "Migrating Gallery", will travel between the three capitals of Cairo, Athens and Paris along the Mediterranean Line. With three to six shows per year the project will earn the label of a "cultural bridge". Although the aim of the project is simply to "open a new space in which artists are placed in the centre of a process of exchanges, dialogues, meetings, debates and confrontations, aiming to better catch and understand the foundation of their art," no single French or Greek artist has attended the exhibition. "It is the first round of the project and the financial support is very limited. I hope the next rounds will witness more actual interaction," Kartsonas pleads. The three participating countries have a common historical heritage, at least from the geographical perspective, but Kartsonas believes that the aim of the exhibition is "not to define these common features, but rather to spot some dissimilarity and to reflect each artist's peculiar viewpoint of the world or towards a certain issue." Much to this writer's disappointment the number of pieces exhibited is not that large, entailing a rather faint possibility to recognise or sense the similarities or dissimilarities behind these works. However, some works are eye-catching. An excellent example of this is the three works in Greek artist Krallis's Rolls Toys. The work features a Rolls Royce motorcar, above which is a herd of camels covered with a large cloth with eyes piercing through its many holes. Krallis is a 60-year-old artist who lives in Sweden but whose deep, Greek artistic roots are reflected in his works. Mohamed Abla's two giant works also feature an untraditional artistic style. Entitled "Crowded Cairo Streets", both works feature people walking in the streets of Cairo, almost merging with the pavements, lamp posts and kiosks, infusing a feeling of a dizzy world. Adjacent to Abla's works is a single, black, metal piece entitled "New York" by Greek artist Maravas. With lit holes dispersed on its surface, the work resembles the gloomy face of the highly populated city. The works of Faten El-Nawawi, another female Egyptian artist, feature uncontrolled flying women with the fantastic chosen title: "The Critical Balance". Vigier's five portraits reflect an infatuation with hot colours: the blue and red, the use of which can be noticed in several portraits in the exhibition. "My aim is to have a number of artists from these three countries, which will, in time, be a kind of enthusiastic group of artists and share with me the same beliefs, so that in future we will have a kind of artistic community across the Mediterranean," Kartsonas says. The financing of the event is covered completely by personal initiatives, a good part of the expenses being covered by the artists themselves. The sale of the displayed artworks to a new public of amateurs and collectors through a more direct circuit is another aim behind this project. "We take a very low commission just to cover the expenses of the exhibition, in order to encourage artists to send and participate in the event by their personal effort and not via an established official organisation," she added. Artist Adel El-Siwi has two portraits hanging at the exhibition: "The Musician" and "The Sculptor". El-Siwi, however, has some doubts about the actual target of the project. "The exhibition failed to make any kind of interaction among the participating artists either through meetings, magazines or workshops," he says. "I am a bit confused about the main target of this exhibition. Is it for marketing the artistic pieces, which definitely needs greater capabilities, or is it to create a kind of dialogue, which has not actually been done on any levels?," El-Siwi argued. "I wish the event would achieve something greater in future, and not turn to a mere seasonal event."
