The magnificent Egyptian graffiti 2

The magnificent Egyptian graffiti

Alaa Al-Aswani racconta la rivoluzione all'istituto francese del Cairo

mercoledì, 14 dicembre 2011

More and more graffiti

Aid al-Adha, le foto di Francesca Leonardi

Qualche giorno fa al Cairo, in Egitto e in tutto il Medio Oriente (anche in Europa) tra le comunita' musulmane si e' festeggiata la festa del sacrificio. Decine di capre, pecore, mucche e cammelli sono stati sgozzati in ricordo del sacrificio di Giacobbe. Trovate sul sito di Contrasto le magnifiche foto di Francesca Leonardi che ha preso parte agli sgozzamenti e alle celebrazioni ad Alessandria.

Il cambiamento si fa arte

Egitto: sui muri i graffiti della rivoluzione, il cambiamento si fa arte
I writer in festa per due giorni al Cairo
Il Cairo, 23 mag. -
(Aki) - L'atmosfera di liberta' prodotta in Egitto dalla rivoluzione contro l'ex rais Hosni Mubarak ha trovato espressione anche sui muri del Cairo, dove i 'graffitari' egiziani hanno partecipato nei giorni scorsi al 'Weekend dei graffiti folli'. Per due giorni, gli artisti di strada hanno colorato le vie del Cairo, dedicando molte delle loro opere alla rivoluzione e ai suoi 'martiri'.
Gli artisti si sono dati appuntamento nel quartiere di Zamalek e intorno a piazza Tahrir. ''Di solito lavoriamo da soli, volevo vedere cosa sarebbe successo se per una volta ci fossimo organizzati e avessimo lavorato in gruppo'', ha spiegato ad al-Ahram On-line uno degli organizzatori, il 'writer' Ganzeer. Uno dei murales dipinti tra sabato e domenica e' stato dedicato a Islam Raafat, 18enne ucciso da un carro armato delle forze di sicurezza durante i 18 giorni di occupazione di piazza Tahrir.
''Non dobbiamo dimenticare i nostri martiri, spero che saremo in grado di dipingere per le strade della citta' una per una le 850 persone morte per un Egitto migliore'', ha continuato Ganzeer. Uno dei graffiti piu' significativi nelle rivolte egiziane era stato dipinto ad Alessandria su un grande muro e dedicato a Khaled Sayd, giovane ucciso durante le violenze. Wael Ghonim, attivista e blogger, aveva ideato in sua memoria la pagina Facebook ''Siamo tutti Khaled Sayd'', che aveva raccolto in poche ore il sostegno di centinaia di attivisti. (segue)
Egitto: sui muri i graffiti della rivoluzione, il cambiamento si fa arte (2)
Il Cairo, 23 mag. -
(Aki) - Uno dei nuovi graffiti disegnati da Ganzeer si trova a Zamalek, antico quartiere del centro del Cairo abitato soprattutto da stranieri, e rappresenta un bambino su una bicicletta che porta il pane e si confronta con un carro armato. ''Le rivolte non sono nate dal nulla, ma da un lento lavoro di artisti e intellettuali iniziato almeno dieci anni fa'', spiega ad AKI-ADNKRONOS INTERNATIONAL Magdy El Shafee, fumettista e autore di 'Metro', libro illustrato sottoposto a censura dal regime di Mubarak.
''Graffiti e rap: sono le nuove tecniche della rivoluzione culturale egiziana'', dichiara Magdy El Shafee. Il disegnatore e' tra gli ideatori della rivista ''Tok, tok'' e tra i primi graffitari che hanno colorato le mura che circondano l'Universita' americana del Cairo. ''La Rivoluzione ha dato nuovo impulso alle attivita' culturali egiziane, dal teatro al cinema documentario, fino alla musica rap'', continua Magdy. Secondo il disegnatore, le nuove tecniche usate dagli artisti egiziani non sono nate dal nulla.
''Hanno ispirato i giovani egiziani film come 'Fight club' e 'V per vendetta' - continua l'autore di Metro - Questo spiega perche' la rivoluzione culturale egiziana piu' che creare un nuovo linguaggio usi tecniche di oltreoceano per raccontare un paese che cambia. Gli egiziani cercano la loro nuova identita' in una societa' che potrebbe offrire loro possibilita' senza precedenti''. Concerti di musica rap e pop, spettacoli di mimi e danzatori hanno invaso in varie occasioni le strade del Cairo nei quartieri del centro, a Nasr City e Helipolis. Questa ondata senza precedenti di attivita' culturali sta raggiungendo lentamente anche la periferia urbana, con eventi organizzati e improvvisati che attirano l'attenzione di centinaia di fan e curiosi.

Giuseppe Acconcia, maggio 2011, Adnkronos

Il primo concerto di Abdin

Graffiti and Rappers. The Egyptian light Orchestra

Matters of the ear

Giuseppe Acconcia considers revolutionary hip hop while listening to the Egyptian Light Orchestra

Rappers, actors and graffiti artists are invading Egyptian streets. First, a young comic-strip writer issued a review called Tuk tuk a few weeks after the Revolution: Magdy El Shafee, author of Metro, a comic-strip book, as well as a graffiti artist, is among the creators of the project. In last few days, he was on the streets with Omar Mustafa and Mohammed Fahmi (called Mufa) to paint the walls of Mohammed Mahmud Street, Bab El Louk, Champollion Street and Dokky. What are their favourite symbols? Bread, the clenched fist, the words "25 January" or "I am Khaled Said".

"We walked dressed in jackets with a thousand pockets for spray-paint cans," the comic-strip writer explains. According to Magdy, Egyptian culture is at a crossroads. "We achieved results with new methods. Tahrir's young people were inspired by the internet. They have different horizons compared to the old revolutionaries of 1919 and 1953. They developed a new sense of humour, everything happened so fast and without any link with the old generation. Kifaya in 2005 and the demonstrations against corruption in 2007 anticipated the 2011 revolts. Nevertheless all the political apparatus was shocked by these new movements; they considered opposition groups a dead body." What inspired the Egyptian youth? "A lot of foreign movies. Maybe Fight Club and V for Vendetta more than others". Magdy knows that this is only a step towards a better society. "Our job is at the beginning, even civil society, editors and companies were part of our corrupt system. In my next book I will talk about how men change after revolts, how we can overcome a police state, the possibility of a complete change."

But even more than graffiti, young Egyptians are in love with rap, hip hop and RnB. The youngest Cairo and Alexandria groups participated in the Revolution. Among them: Khaled Mahmud or Adam El Nehez Unity, 22, from Al-Qubba; McFlash, Mohammed Shalaby, 20, from Nasr City; Ahmad Moktar or Romel B, 23 and very famous among the young; EG or Mohammed Sherif, 20, from Ghamra; and TEG, Ahmad Mahmud, 21, from Maadi. They are students of engineering, music and Economics, liberals or moderate Islamists. These groups are inspired by Montags and Immortal Techinique from the United States, but also by young Egyptian groups such as Asfalt. They rap about social issues. They gather for concerts at Basta (a new place near Maspiro, Tahrir), at the Sawy Culturewheel, Zamalek, and on the streets (notably of Heliopolis). "We used to talk about how Revolution can change Egyptian society,"Mohammed says. In "Where is Egypt?" McFlash talks about the pollution that suffocates Cairo and the corruption of the political system before 25 January: "I see people who die for money, why are Egyptians not respected in other countries?" the young singer asks in one song. Ahmad Moktar is sure: "Freedom means to say the truth about our past to change our daily habits." Many foreign rappers talk about religion; it is not the same for Egyptians. "We don't talk about religion in our songs," Mohammed Sherif explains; "we are for the respect of every religion and religious behaviour. But we know it is necessary to urge people to move. Whoever is poor should ask for help from God!"

As young men, they were all in Tahrir since 28 January. "We slept in the middle of the square," Khaled recounts, "for almost a week, without anything, not even a blanket. We made raps, but we were singing also Mohammed Munir and Sheihk Imam songs." Revolutionaries of the past, such as Ahmed Foad Nigm, also inspired rappers. "The 2011 revolts were the first Egyptian Revolution. The 1952 one, when our maestro Foad Nigm was in Tahrir, was only a military coup," Romel B. comments. "We don't think about counterrevolution because people are strong and the army respects us," adds Ahmad Mahmud. Rappers always use free styles and improvisations. They add to the Egyptian dialect, directly understood by everybody, words from classical Arabic. "The place of our rehearsal is a small room with a microphone," Ahmad confirms. "We are direct, true, we talk to the people." Some of them dress in long T-shirts and a tight hat. "I wanted to leave Egypt, but now I've decided to stay," says Mohammed. "I was shocked during the Revolution. The more people they shot, the more people came. We protected our home with our neighbours, we are more united than in the past."

Before the Revolution, it was impossible to make money from hip hop; now small production companies are spreading; rappers multiply. Ahmad Mikki, for instance, demands freedom for Egypt; in his songs he talks about violence during the Egypt-Algeria match in Sudan in 2010. The number of rappers is infinite: Arabian Knights of "Not your prisoners", McAmin from Mansoura and Y crew from Alexandria. Priesto talks about the integration of Arab women abroad, Egy Rap School concentrate on Egyptian girls dressed as Westerners. In "Stop the government" they contributed to inciting the 25 January Revolution. Amr Ahah renews the popular songs of weddings, Adaweya style, talking about the attacks on big malls during the revolts. This new army of youth, musicians and writers watch over the Revolution. They are ready to go back to the square, if the army does not realise their requests, but they will not stop rapping whatever the case.

Sam Shalabi and his Egyptian Light Orchestra continue their worldwide tour. After Istanbul, London, Paris and Los Angeles, they performed on 2 May in San Francisco. Shalabi -- his first name was Osama -- is a Canadian citizen and oud player, the founder of the Egyptian Light Orchestra. When he chose the name Land of Kush, he was inspired by the Kush's Nile region. At this time, Shalabi was influenced by Sun Ra's Orchestra and mythical Egyptian origins. The new album, Monogamy (Constellation Records 2010), completes Shalabi's project of building up an orchestra after his first work with Land of Kush, Against the Day. The original name of this mostly instrumental set was The Shalabi Effect; it formed in 1996 in Montreal, Quebec, with compositions by Shalabi and Anthony Seck. In 1998 the group doubled, adding Alexandre Saind Onge on bass and Will Eizlini on tabla. In their last album Land of Kush featured a hybrid of styles and scenarios. Nowadays, more then 20 musicians perform orchestral jazz, psychedelic folk and ancient songbooks.

The songs recall mythical dilemmas such as frustration-liberation, chastity-carnality, innocence-shame. They mix Arabic psych-rock in "1st and the Last" and "Tunnel Visions", free jazz and an orchestral aria in "Scars" and "Boo and Fisherman", metaphysical groove for a trip outside the earth in "Monogamy" and a coming back to earth in a Syrian village with "Like the Thread of a Spider". Among the female voices, Molly Sweeney and Elizabeth Anka Vojagic stand out, while Alexandre St Onge introduces electronic sounds. Shalabi's target is to remould Middle Eastern music, mixing North African and Western traditions with a psychedelic background. The results are fascinating: colours and sounds, ancestral visions and modernist transfigurations. Against the Day was inspired by a Thomas Pynchon novel, travelling between full and empty on a timeless spiritual geography. In "Iceland Spur" the listener will find sounds from the desert inspired by dreams. Hidden on the backyard, Shalabi's oud stands for solemn liberation.

"Shalabi works towards the highest sounds to discover the energy and passion of bodies, showing his need for purification and safety", says Francesco Nunziata, an Italian music reviewer. As a party of dancing spirits, à l'Art Ensemble of Chicago directs its hypnotic groove. The dance ends, leaving space to a kind of desolate procession in "Rue du Depart", a slow walk of energy towards the spirit, not forgetting the imminence of the end. During the last lines of "Monogamy", Moly Sweeney delineantes the alphabet of their trans-cultural music: "A is for the apple tree, B is for Beelzebul and the snake, C is for the curse of Ham, D is for drugs that you're now forced to take, E is for eternity, F is for what you did outside, G is for the Giving Tree, H is for Holy Spirit's bride. And all of this comes out in little birdlike trills. You'll reach for paper to clean up all your spills."

Giuseppe Acconcia

Al Ahram, maggio 2011

Horreya is closed

Giuseppe Acconcia follows the recent fortunes of a key gathering place

It was 25 February when the doors and windows to Cairo's most popular beer-drinking venue were barred. At the beginning we thought it was a few days' move in deference to the Moulid, the anniversary of the Prophet Mohammad. A week on, however, my downtown friends and I were already engaging in guesswork.

"It has to do with the terrorist attack on the Synagogue," Alaaeddin says, suggesting that iron bars should be installed in the windows to reduce the threat of explosions. "They need to provide better security because the place is full of foreigners." Taha has another idea: "They are just closed for renovations." Then again, as Ahmad points out, why did they not undertake them during Ramadan (when alcohol-serving venues are closed anyway)?

Crossing Falaki Square, we can all see that renovations really are underway. I went inside and, sure enough, the walls had a new coat of paint and there was new furniture installed. I spoke to one of the owners. Once again I was told, "Next Sunday, or next Tuesday." Once again, as I predicted, it didn't happen. Tarek said, "They want to show the best possible face of Horreya, because Osama El-Shazly's book on the cafe has been published." Ihab disagreed: "All they say is false. Their alcohol license expired and they haven't renewed it, that's what it is."

While they await the reopning, the customers of Horreya are spread around the bars and cafeterias of downtown Cairo. The Stella Bar is too small a space for the tourists and khawagat or expatriates, actors, brokers and the unemployed who have joined in with the regular customers.

In Horreya old men would be playing chess in one corner while the drinkers sat inadequately shielded by wood planks. The kherteyya, those who make it their business to weedle as much money out of foreigners as they can by whatever means, would be out in force. I heard one suggesting to three Germans to accompany him to the casino where he worked for LE4,000.

But there is a different kind of kherti : artists, actors, musicians, directors, intellectuals who are less interested in money than a kind of spiritual exchange with foreigners. They would like to live abroad but they can't, so foreigners are their best friends. They are the only way to realise a real or a vague dream. They don't like their country so much, they want practise their English. Of course they like to drink wine and beer. In general they act like foreigners, looking for friendships with the real deal. "We are looking for foreigners as bit players for our next movie," says Wael. "Will you come to Mohandessintomorrow to take a photo?"

Those people used to spend their time in cafès like After Eight in Bassiouny Street, or the Tak'iba in Champolion Street, and the hidden cafè behind the garage in front of Rawabet Theatre. Of course Horreya remains their favourite place. Normally, they would gather there every evening. The third kind of kherti is different again: foreigners who pretend to be Egyptians, who practise their Arabic and look for friendships in the same settings.

It is as if they have become homeless.

Where do all these people go while Horreya is closed? The downtown bars are more crowded than usual: other than the tiny Stella on Hoda Shaarawy Street, the Cap d'Or on Gawad Hosni Street, an old wooded place with mezzeh that includes lupini and tomatoes, the Odeon and Carlton hotel terraces, and Alf Laila wa Laila on Gomhouriya Street. So are the ahawi or traditional cafes, but there beer cannot be had. People order sahlab, koshari teas, cold ennab, lemon juices, Turkish coffee, zabadi (a yogurt drink) or aniseed. They listen to the continuous reading of Quran' verses looking at the old customers smoking shisha maassel or tuffah andlistlessly playing chess, domino and backgammon.

But when of Horreya reopens it will suddenly change the look of Falaki Square. It will give back the nights of those Egyptians and foreigners the same ephemeral sensation of freedom. 

maggio/2010

Giuseppe Acconcia

Outings of the old days

Giuseppe Acconcia takes the ferry

 

Public boats, the haloed "Nile bus" that used to be among the most popular middle- class attractions, regularly link the two sides of the Nile.

They are yellow and green, usually parked by the river in front of the Radio and Television Union building. The ticket to this form of public transport is still very cheap: 25 piasters from Abu Feda to Imbaba, and LE2 from Tahrir to Giza. The trip is far more comfortable than its counterpart in a small and crowded microbus; the view is obviously better.

It took a while to discover that the best public boat crossing the Nile goes from Tahrir to Qanater, once a popular outing spot. There is just one trip per day, at 10 am. This isn't the exact time of departure: the trip starts once the boat is full. But at what price? It only costs LE10 for the round trip.

This trip recalls the 19th-century Senna cruises which inspired those Impressionist paintings made en pain air, such as Dejeuner sur l'herbe or Les Moulins de la Galette. The boat is divided into two parts: a roof side, covered by colourful tents, and an indoor side full of orange chairs. There are families, children, veiled women and foreigners, often seen on the prow gazing at the landscape. The bullies from popular districts and the amorous couples are seen inside. They look like they are waiting for something, moving from a place to another.

Young men play dominos, cards or board games the ground. Children run and jump on the prow, sliding down. A photographer peddles a photomontage with singers and artists for LE15- 20. Suddenly, the music starts. There are even two DJs. First of all, the bullies try dancing. Zamalek and Agouza go by on the left side. But when the boat passes the low Imbaba bridge, everybody is obliged to crouch to avoid the iron.

Slowly the boat leaves behind, on the left, the neighbourhood of Mazallat. "We are from Maadi and we take this boat sometimes, just to enjoy our weekends," Yakoub and Mayar tell me. "I work as an accountant and she is a student. This short trip is a kind of holiday for us".

The trip continues. The cruise lasts two hours passing trough the districts of El-Gezira El-Hurra, among others. On the right side the chimneys of Shubra emit smock. "We are from Kobba, studying engineering at Cairo University," two girls and two boys seen at the bottom say. They look at the landscape and seem not so interested in music and dancing. Nevertheless the atmosphere and the mood of all the passengers continue to improve. The dances go on without any interruption. The girls look calmer than usual.

In his cockpit, the old and serious captain smokes a cigarette. He does not seem very interested in his work. Without a word he points to the big chimneys emitting white and blue smock. I ask what they are. Only the ticket collector answers, telling me they are the new and old electricity factories. Then: "I work ten day per week as a ticket collector on this boat and for the rest of the month as a tailor."

Now the landscape changes suddenly. There are no more skyscrapers or buildings. The ground is covered in green, banana fields, cows, small houses or big villas, fishermen with their cargo. A young Egyptian in a Mexican shirt is posing for a fake photo with his favourite artist while a Yemeni man discusses his holidays in Egypt.

Finally we are in Qanater. People disembark. Some start riding horses, others rent motorbikes and bikes. Some walk along winding path of trees and animals. There are birds, a merry-go-round, cafeterias, mostly closed, and a long bridge. We cross the dam, built by Muhammad Ali in the 19th century, in the old English style, with stones and towers. Restaurants serve fresh fish from the Nile, the two varieties known as bouri and bolti.

Inside and outside the boat the place looks like a "country of playthings" (Paese dei balocchi), as in Collodi's famous tale of Pinocchio. While the boat heads back to Cairo after three hours, the dances and the children's games continue with more vigour. Everybody goes everywhere, forgetting where they were before. In the end, the boat is the poor man's land of freedom.

Seven young men are sighted looking very serious on one side. "We are Indonesian students at the Al-Azhar University," they say, turning their faces from the landscape to the dancing, which infects everyone. Finally the boat arrives at Tahrir. The green has given way to Cairo's busy streets again.

 

Al Ahram

Aprile/2010

Egyptian graffiti2

The Mevlevi's house

Giuseppe Acconcia goes Sufi

On 20 May, the Sama Khana of Syoufiya Street, at Al-Helmia Al-Gedida, hosted the amazing Turkish dervish dancer Ziya Azazi. It was one of the events of the Spring Festival organised by the NGO Al-Mawared Al-Thaqafi, and it took place inside the old Tekkaya. On 8 May the experimental folk Czech violinist Iva Bittova and the Iraqi oudist Anwar Abudragh started the evenings of the festival with an interesting concert. Professor Giuseppe Fanfoni spends his days inside the marvellous Sama Khana. He is professor and restorer of the Rome university "La Sapienza" as well as director of the Ciera (Italian-Egyptian Centre for Restoration and Archaeology).

Why does he consider this Islamic monument important? "The Sama Khana is the best example in Egypt of the symbols of the Mevlevi rite: circles determine the section and the plant of this structure. When men build a place in relation to its functions they respond to 'design' criteria. 'Design' starts when men produce objects not existing in nature, for instance with the production of arms. After the Second World War, Walter Gropius started talking about 'social design': the object should fulfil a social function. The Sama Khana was already born with a social target, conferring the shape of the function to which the building was assigned".

But how did the close relationship between Fanfoni and this magic place start? "My first time in Egypt was in 1962 for the relocation of the Abu Simbel Temple. I came back for a training course on restoration at Cairo University (1975-1979). In those years the former director of the Italian Institute of Culture, Carla Burri, saw a dome in old Cairo. The doors were walled up, the place was used as an old dervish home after the Ataturk ban [on Sufi rites]. 'We should save that little theatre,' she used to say. I told her that we at least needed scaffolding for the dome. And so, Haggag Ibrahim, now President of the Archaeological Department of the University of Tanta, started looking for small beams with a cart in near-by construction sites. Workers from Helwan came to start the work. From the beginning I sought the involvement of Cairo University, with a project to train young restorers. Students participated in the works until 1984. At the same time the Italian cooperation was involved. So in 1988 the restoration of the Sama Khana was completed, with the help of 500 persons, among them students, restorers and workers. After that, we started the excavation and restoration of the old madrassa. I obtained funding by the Italian law 212/92 for an amount of Euro 400,000, supported by a project of the University of Bologna. But I mortgaged my home in Italy to have the money in advance."

Why did Turkish Sufis build the Sama Khana here? "Dervishes came to Egypt with the Ottoman conquest at the end of 1500. In 1595 they obtained this centre for their rites on part of the Madrassa of the Emir Sunqur Sadi. In 1615 the dervishes became the owners of the whole area. So they started restoring ruined buildings after the 1300 escape of the Emir. They built the Sama Khana near the Mausoleum of Hassan Sadaka, a nephew of Sunqur Sadi: they took him to be a Sufi of the Tanta school. At the beginning they performed their rites outside, later they adapted the building to their needs modelling their work on the Konya tekkayas. In 1856 they built the Sama Khana, according to the dates of the internal paintings. Although they used existing structures, they created a new building useful for their symbols. They walled up the dome windows and made a wood covering."

Giuseppe Fanfoni, 69, is a genial man, restorer, architect and painter. "I'm preparing an exhibition on my works. When I was young at school they asked me to paint the Battistero of San Marco Pontecorvo (FR). And I did a remarkable job. So I started as a painter. Later I developed my restoration techniques: technology should only support work on the structure."

How did he apply his techniques to the restoration of the Sama Khana? "For instance, here we injected the walls with consolidation material but only where there was damage. We did it in such a way that anyone can infer and deduce what the place was like before we intervened. We did not close the eight windows, we just placed frames. And so we can close and open the windows and see the dome in two ways. We tried to find the old madrassa of Sunqur Sadi. Now it is possible to see the central courtyard. The old building has the same structure as the Sultan Hassan Mosque, with two iwans. We also found bricks from an old fountain, dated to the time of Ibn Tulun. Underneath we discovered a well. Syoufiya Street was a cow's alley: the well was used for breeding animals. And so, in a small alley we found the complete story of the development of old Cairo".

Nowadays the Sama Khana hosts conferences, concerts and seminars. Twice a year dervishes come from Turkey to present their performances in a symbolic place. This project has become a point of reference for Egyptian restorers of Islamic monuments in Cairo.

Giugno 2010

Giuseppe Acconcia

Al Ahram

Egyptian Graffiti



Via Mohammed Mahmoud



Via Mohammed Mahmoud