Arts in Cairo and Other Things

---

It's been a hectic few days in Cairo. We've had to cram in a lot of administrative stuff like looking for an apartment, orientation, etc, while trying to live up the Cairene night life. There is some routine to the chaos and we've generally been waking up at around 11, do the boring stuff or if we're lucky do a little sight seeing till 8 or 9, go out at 10, then go to bed in 4 in the morning. I don't think it will last too long if this continued, but I'm enjoying it while it lasts. as expected there have been plenty of surprises along the way too.

One of the best nights we've had so far was the gallery opening of the Townhouse. Town house is an art workshop/gallery that (I think) is funded by either the Canadian government or a rich Canadian dude that's into the arts. We've had the privilege of discovering this place because Santo, who is a committed member of the workshops, invited us to stop by the workshop when we met him at a bar the second night. When we did get there, they were working on an exhibition that was coming up in two days. They made us feel very welcome and we even took part in making a big floating car, which unsurprisingly, was not featured in the actual exhibition. So my artist debut is just gonna have to wait a little longer.

The night of the exhibition was a huge blast. Unlike a traditional gallery, the exhibition was only open for one night mostly because their turnaround is very quick and they will be starting their new workshop very soon. This meant that the night was more like a big party. The venue was packed with all kinds of people from little kids from the neighborhood to the well-dressed Europeans. Subsequently it was very hot as well and commenting on the temperature took up a good portion of our conversations. It really was hot.

The exhibition itself was very diverse too. There were video pieces, a dance performance, paintings, and smaller pieces that followed the overall theme of "recycle fashion". Pieces of colorful fabric hanging from strings attached to the ceiling, the smell of Sudanese food from the food stall, and the heat made the whole event an intense affair. The whole thing was surreal especially when I was reminded that I was in downtown Cairo.

We stopped by a local bar afterwards with Ahmed to get a few beers. Ahmed is another friend we've made recently and he's been super kind to us. I don't think we deserve all his hospitality, but we also really appreciate it because he will take us around to the coolest little spots around town. Everywhere we go he knows someone too so he's kind of like the social chair of Cairo. Great guy.

So the impending issue is the apartment hunt. I better get going to beat the Saudi Arabians to the good deals. Apparently they come en masse during Ramadan and occupy all the real estate in the city.

---

Photos

Floating Car (?)
This is the project we helped out on. Probably why it was not on display at the actual exhibition.

UFO
They're abound in Cairo.

Crowd
The overall atmosphere of the exhibition.

Food
Was delicious.

Show
It was going on next door.

Bar
That guy was really angry that I took a picture of him. I was taking a picture of the window asshole.