Ganzeer studio creates a forum for Arab graphic artists and designers CAIRO: The great Walt Disney once said, "You can dream, create, design and build the most wonderful place in the world, but it requires people to make the dream a reality. Well, here in Egypt, those "people have arrived. Three artists, all under 25 years of age, have created an innovative label called Ganzeer; a "multidisciplinary art studio explains Mohammed Fahmy, the studio's pioneer. Along with his colleagues, Dalia El Shimi and Haitham Abu-Samra, Fahmy formed the company a year ago, which basically encompasses the many forms of creative expression: modern art, design and graphics. From creating corporate identity to designing a chair, they've got it all. The idea materialized when Fahmy decided that he did not want a traditional office job. "Instead [I wanted to] break out and do select projects where we are allowed to use visual language the way it should be used, he says. Fahmy first worked for Hany Mahfouz design, and then moved on to E-turn Internet Company where he met Abu-Samra. He convinced Abu-Samra, employed as a web developer, to join him and have the opportunity to apply his visual and graphic design talents to their full potential rather than being limited within the confines of his job. El Shimi is a graphic artist plus illustrator with interior design background. Ganzeer's portfolio includes creating corporate identity for companies like Digital Charisma, Up Close and Personal store in the CityStars shopping center and Mask-Off magazine. They have created mural art work for the interiors of many café's, including the ultra modern coffee shop in Mohandiseen "inch, famous for its funky design. They also develop advertising campaigns for various businesses, including Philosophy interiors. The studio is also involved in creating comic strips, sequential art storyboards and editorial cartoons for magazines, including Campus, and there own a bilingual (Arabic/English) contemporary socio-cultural magazine 8 x 8, co-published with "inch café. Currently in the oven, is a line of T-shirts with different concepts, which will be available soon at Zafir clothes store in Zamalek (not yet open). Ganzeer is part of the Egyptian Designers Forum, and have just taken part in "Core which was part of the Furnex exposition. Among the other top local designers that took part are kitchen designer Amr Helmy and architect Tarek Naga. "It's collaboration between manufacturers and designers ... sort of a dialogue, elaborates Fahmy, whose own collection of furniture will be out later this year. Ganzeer realizes that media is a strong tool that can impact a society, so they aim at using it in a positive way, relating a message through the art, some direct and others indirect. Furthermore, the studio's designers are currently working on their first independent film with a strong anti-drug message. Their aesthetically pleasing Web site is filled with design goodies, like design columns and essays. They have an online magazine to promote Arab arts, Shakloh. Every month, the virtual magazine focuses on a different theme and invites other artists to submit graphics and art that expresses that same theme. Previously it has tackled themes such as: "Patience is a Virtue and "El-Baladi Yokal (roughly translated as "Gypo [slang for Egyptian] is Edible. ) "Arab artists have very little presence on the web in the international design community. Realizing this, Ganzeer has created Shakloh Mag to direct the steady traffic it garners onto the contributors of the mag explains their Web site. "We use different ideas which are basically a visual medium that transcends into any language, Fahmy adds. While they bring together a variety of design mediums and style, the one common underlying theme is that they are far from average. Ganzeer's designs raise the bar of creativity. Their work is young, fresh and incorporates elements from Egyptian culture with a unique flare. Fahmy feels that Ganzeer was formed at the right time, although when they first started the concept they weren't sure there would be high demand. "There is a shift (in Egypt) towards creativity and creative ideas, and there is a movement towards ideas and thought and many people want to be part of this creative movement, he says. Check out the Web site at http://www.ganzeer.com/
