CAIRO - In his address at the inauguration ceremony for a joint Egyptian-Italian art exhibition that opened this week in Cairo, Claudio Pacifico, Italian Ambassador to Egypt had an urgent message. “We want life in Cairo to get back to normal. We want Cairo to once again be a cosmopolitan capital full of art and beauty, a city of peace and stability,” said Pacifico, in answering a question about the purpose of the exhibition, one of several activities to celebrate Italian National Day on June 2. The exhibition, entitled “Muse of the Works of Egyptian artist Essam Marouf and Italian artist Omar Galliani”, is the first major cultural event since the eruption of the Egyptian revolution. Although the aim is to spread a bit of cultural cheer, a violent demonstration raged between Christians and Muslims, just yards away from where the exhibition was being inaugurated. Pacifico added that he had organised this artistic event to reinvigorate the local cultural scene that has suffered much recently. “I want it to be a joint exhibition to stress the friendship between our two nations. We have enjoyed strong relations for many years and they're going to get even stronger in the future,” he said. He added that his country insisted on helping Egypt at this critical time, believing that it needs such help more than ever before. The exhibition, which is underway in the Ofok Gallery, Mohamed Mahmoud Khalil Museum in Doqqi, runs until May 23. The works of the two artists may have the same theme, but their styles are very different, making the exhibition more interesting, as the visitor is compelled to compare the way they tackle the same issues. Both of them deal with the classic art of portraiture in a very new, unique way, with the visitor admiring the richness and depth of their paintings.
