CAIRO: Affectionately known as “The Mother of the World,” modern Cairo is home to her diverse and oft-conflicting offspring. One cannot help imagining both her grief over the gaps of understanding and enmity expressed herein alongside her mother's pride over those working to reunite the world's family in today's city. Such an effort commences Thursday, January 28, in the Cairo suburb of Maadi, with the second annual “Caravan: Festival of the Arts.” The art exhibition hopes to serve “as a bridge for intercultural and inter-religious interchange,” according to the event's press release, by “encouraging friendship, deepening respect and facilitating sharing between the Middle East and the West.” Last year United States Ambassador Margaret Scobey opened the exhibition that welcomed an unprecedented turnout and a promising beginning to ongoing dialogue and relationship. 600 people from numerous backgrounds and creeds attended the opening of the 2009 festival and over 1,300 visited throughout the week to view the artwork on display. This year's efforts have doubled according to co-curator and facilitator, Reverend Paul-Gordon Chandler (Rector of St. John's Church in Maadi). The works of 40 artists, 20 from Eastern backgrounds and 20 from Western, will be displayed in the quaint, historic church-turned-art gallery. The 40 visual artists, including renowned Egyptian artist Mohamed Abla, have contributed original works interpreting the theme “Harmony: East and West.” Each artist has expressed a unique vision of harmony in its present existence or in its yet-realized potential. Not only have the visual contributions doubled this year but also the 2010 festival has expanded to include literature, film, and music in the week-long event. At 7pm on the opening night of January 28th, the Grand Mufti of Egypt, Sheikh Ali Gouma, and Rt. Rev. & Rt. Hon. Richard Chartres, the Bishop of London, both members of the C100 religious forum, will open the festival in the presence of guests and all 40 contributing artists. The literary portion will take place January 30th at 7pm with a presentation by Tahir Shah, author of the best selling novels “In Arabian Nights†and “The Caliphs House.†The evening of February 1st will feature a film screening of the inter-religious comedy “Hasan and Morqos”, to be introduced by Omar Sharif himself at 7pm. The festival will close with a performance by world-famous Iraqi oudist Naseer Shamma February 3rd at 7:30pm. The majority of bridge-building efforts seem benign at best and impotent at worst, but Caravan is sure to be unique in that unlike other endeavors, it has flesh and bone, yielding tangible hope in the pieces of art for the audience to behold. Chandler says that art has a unique role to play in facilitating inter-religious and intercultural harmony: “Art by nature forces one to push beyond boundaries. Therefore, when you are looking at issues of faith or religion, you are compelled to push and to move beyond parameters,” he said while speaking with Bikya Masr. After the shocking and discouraging events surrounding the Nag Hammadi Christmas shootings, the upcoming Caravan festival assures that there is still reason and hope to push beyond dividing lines in pursuit of harmony. You can find more information, including a complete listing of artists, at onacaravan.org BM
