East Wing launches a new exhibition space in Dubai with this groundbreaking exhibition in collaboration with Museum Folkwang, Essen Germany
19 March – 15 May 2014
We celebrate the opening of our new gallery space in Dubai with this compelling story of social awakening and political discourse that followed the 25 January 2011 uprising in Cairo.
Cairo. Open City- New Testimonies from an Ongoing Revolution is divided into various chapters curated by different protagonists of the Cairo art scene, including the artists: Lara Baladi and Heba Farid, the photographers, Thomas Hartwell and Tarek Hefny, the artist Jasmina Metwaly, the filmmaker Philip Rizk and journalists Rowan El Shimi and Alex Nunns.
Included in the exhibition are photographs, videos, drawings and texts by: Antro, Kim Badawi, Taha Belal, Denis Dailleux, Osama Dawod, Rowan El Shimi, Hossam el-Hamalawy, Mosa’ab Elshamy, Ahmed Kamel, Mosireen, Nasser Nouri, Alex Nunns, Jonathan Rashad, Ivor Prickett, Philip Rizk, Randa Shaath, Thawra Media and Lilian Wagdy .
This exhibition does not attempt to showcase a finished work, but rather utilizes the openness of the ongoing process of change taking place in Egypt through the works created, mostly by Egyptian artists, photographers, curators and activists.
Cairo. Open City explores how visual media has been transformed by a digital revolution, and the creation of 'citizen journalism'. The exhibition includes video works from some important archives such as, Mosireen, a media collective that disseminates video content of the revolution and the Thawra Media, an open platform for people to share photos and videos, reporting their own experience of bearing witness to ongoing change.
East Wing’s exhibition of Cairo. Open City- New Testimonies from an Ongoing Revolution was originally launched in German cities: Braunschweig, Berlin, Essen and Hamberg, initiated and co-curated by Florian Ebner , Head of Photographic Collections at Museum Folkwang and Curator, Constanze Wicke. This exhibition in Dubai has been mounted by East Wing to illustrate and illuminate how these new digital networks have contributed to changes in the way photographs are perceived; raising exciting discourse on documentary photography, video, art, audio recordings and journalism.
Special Feature:
In the installation of Cairo. Open City will be an ongoing presentation of The Square (Al-midan)the award winning 2013 Egyptian American documentary film directed by Jehane Noujaim that covers the ongoing Egyptian Revolution of 2011 from its beginnings in Tahrir Square. Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 86th Academy Awards, the film illustrates issues that also make-up the foundation of Cairo. Open City. The Square draws on footage made by some 40 Egyptian videographers, and looks at the euphoria of the revolution, the commitment and bravery of the activists and takes a discerning eye on both the Egyptian military and the Muslim Brotherhood. The film has received rave reviews for its fresh and direct narrative of these ground breaking events.
Cairo. Open City- New Testimonies from an Ongoing Revolution runs until 15 May 2014
