"A DAY without a laugh is a wasted day," Charlie Chaplin said long ago, stressing the importance of laughter and its positive influence on other people. Hence, the Austrian Cultural Forum and the Polish Embassy in Cairo are presenting ‘Smiles', an extraordinary exhibition of smiles drawn by famous personalities and children suffering from cancer. Being held for the first time in Egypt, the Exhibition has been organised under the auspices of Mrs Suzanne Mubarak, Egypt's First Lady. "I would like to add something to Charlie Chaplin's famous saying: 'A day without a tear is a waste of compassion'. Tears make us remember. It is really heartbreaking when you see these children suffering so much pain," Hossam Nassar, the deputy to the Egyptian Minister of Culture, said on the opening day of the exhibition last week. "As an ambassador, you have to attend som important events. But today's opening is very special because, as Charlie Chaplin said, 'A day without a laugh is a wasted day'," said Austrian Ambassador Thomas Nader, who opened the exhibition. "I would love you to keep those smiles in your hearts for a long time to come," he added. All VIPs from Egypt who contributed to the exhibition were invited to the opening, including Mohssen Shaalan, the head of the Plastic Arts Sector, who stressed that protecting the child means protecting the future. "I'm delighted with this initiative being held at the Children's Cancer Hospital," he stressed. For several years, Marek Wysoczynsk, the initiator of ‘Smiles' project, has been collecting smiles, drawn or painted by famous personalities, politicians and artists from all over the world. Hillary Clinton, Austrian Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger, Liza Minelli, Diego Maradonna and Ricky Martin are just a few of them. Egyptian smiles have come from Suzanne Mubarak, Zahi Hawass and Mona Shazli. The most impressive smiles exhibited are those contributed by the young patients in the Children's Cancer Hospital 57357 in Cairo and the Children's Cancer Hospital St. Anna in Vienna, as well as those of the street children in Giza. The exhibition contains more than 200 smiles. "It's a great pleasure for me to attend the opening of this exhibition, but forgive me for saying that the workshop I held with these children yesterday was an even great pleasure," he said. For Wysoczynski, to have a smile is to have power. "Children have brought me this power," added Wysoczynski, who made a smiling lion-shaped doll and gave it to the children in the workshop. The exhibition, which has already been shown in Mexico, Italy, Poland and Sri Lanka, has been brought to Egypt by the Austrian Cultural Forum and the Polish Embassy in Cairo, in co-operation with the Children's Cancer Hospital Cairo and the Greater Cairo Underground for the first time. The exhibition is being held in the Children's Cancer Hospital in Cairo, 1, Seket Al-Imam Street, el-Madbah el Qadeem Yard, el-Sayyeda Zeinab, until Thursday. On April 19, ‘Smiles' will be presented to a broader public in the Metro Gallery at Opera Tube Station. They will carry on smiling there until April 26.
