Darb 1718’s ‘Something Else-Off Biennale’ exhibition
EXPO WILL RUN FOR 45 DAYS, CONNECTING EGYPTIAN ARTISTS WITH INTERNATIONAL SCENE
Darb 1718 is pleased to announce the opening of its second edition of the ‘Something Else’, an Off-Biennale group show, starting from 1 November and running for 45 days. By Yasmine Al Tawdy
THIS YEAR’S THEME IS ENTITLED, “WHAT IF IT DID NOT HAPPEN?” WILL INCLUDE WORKS THAT IMAGINE A DIFFERENT WORLD, IF HISTORY TOOK ANOTHER PATH THIS IS NOT A NORMAL EXHIBITION BUT A BIENNALE. THERE ARE SEVEN CURATORS, EACH WITH THEIR OWN LIST OF ARTISTS THAT THEY RECOMMENDED, AND WORKED WITH TO RESPOND TO THE THEME. THEY WERE CHOSEN BY THE CHIEF CURATOR, SIMON NIJAMI, WHO IS ONE OF THE TOP CURATORS IN THE WORLD, AND INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNISED
The show is curated by Simon Nijami, with artistic direction from Egyptian visual artist and cultural activist Moataz Nasreldin, and will include over 90 artists from Egypt and around the world.
Over 100 local and international artists will present works at the ‘Something Else-Off Biennale’ art festival, taking place at Darb 1718, and other venues across Cairo.
This year’s theme is entitled, “What if it did not happen?” will include works that imagine a different world, if history took another path.
The list of international artists includes seven curators who worked with a selection of international artists, including Egyptian artist Yara Mekawei. Among the invited artists are 23 from Egypt.The artworks will be at Darb 1718, and other venues in downtown Cairo.
Three different openings will take place three days in a row at the festival’s various venues. on 1 November the opening will take place at Darb 1718, followed by an opening night at 6 Nabarawy street, and 29 Hoda Shaarawy street on November 2.The final opening will be on 3 November at 42 Abdel Khalek Tharwat.
Alongside the visual art exhibition, this year’s programme will present over 10 international and Egyptian performances, including two from Egypt, Aysha by Dalia Kholeif, who premiered at D-CAF earlier this year, and a playback theatre performance by the Dawar Troupe.
Film lovers can expect motion picture screenings from different corners of the world, which will be displayed at Darb 1718, as well as several partner culture institutions such as the Balassi Institute, and the Goethe Institute.
Similar to the previous edition of ‘Something Else’, a series of talks by lecturers, art experts,as well as artists will create a conducive environment for discussions and critical thinking. Attendees can also join one of the festival’s workshops, ranging from art discourses, practices, and more.
According Rehab Ragaee, general manager (GM) of Darb 1718, in an interview with state owned media outlet, Al-Ahram Online on Thursday 25 October, regarding the context and significance of this year’s Off-Biennale event, and how it compares to last years’, she said, “this time we got a lot more organised,” adding, “one of the biggest changes is that last time the events were focused in the first week of the Biennale, with no activity throughout the rest of the month when the exhibition was still running. Now we will have more events distributed across the whole 45-day period,”
Furthermore, Darb 1718 GM’s elaborated, “artists in both segments were recommended, not chosen from an open call, as this is not a normal exhibition but a Biennale. There are seven curators, each with their own list of artists that they recommended, and worked with to respond to the theme. They were chosen by the chief curator, Simon Nijami, who is one of the top curators in the world, and internationally recognised. He was approached by Moataz Nasreldin, who wanted someone experienced. As curator, Nijami is the one who selected this year’s theme: “What if it did not happen?” Meanwhile, the independent artists were chosen by Moataz Nasreldin, but have also created works responding to the theme, so they’re all connected in that way.”
Darb 1718 is an alive and modern contemporary art space complete with two contemporary art galleries, two live performance stages, a large outdoor cinema, workshop areas, a roof lounge, and artist-in-residence studio and living space. By forming strong ties with local craftsmen; young Egyptian artists, intellectuals, and activists; and the rest of the world, Darb 1718 is maintaining a space founded on an otherwise unheard of artistic heritage, yet in stride with rapidly changing technologies and media— firmly building a network along the currents of change sweeping the world, and putting young Egyptian artists at the forefront, according to Darb 1718’s website.
Programme: All events within Cairo’s Something Else - Off Biennale Tuesday October 30
8pm
Performance: Aysha - Dalia Kholeif (Egypt)
At Jesuit Nahda Center
Thursday 1 November
7.30pm Performance: Weight Duvet ,Alva Willemark (Sweden)
At Darb1718
Performance: [U = U] or [undetectable = untransmittable], Vinicius Couto (Brazil)
At Darb1718
8pm
Performance: Coton Tige – Anna Mapoubi (France)
At Darb1718
Performance: Balance & Race Manohar Chiluveru (India)
At Darb 1718
Friday 2 November
3pm
Talk: Panel discussion with Simon Njami, Hazem El Mestekawy, Yasser Mongy and Haytham Nawar
At Darb 1718
8pm Performance: “What is thing called an archive, really?” - Hanna Wildow (Sweden)
At Hoda Shaarawy
8pm
Collective Painting - Manohar Chiluveru (India) Performance
At Hoda Sharaawy
8.30pm
Performance: BA BA IAGA - Bodies in motion- Katharina Loekenhoff and Sophia Loekenhoff (Germany) At Hoda Shaarawy
Saturday 3 November
5pm
Performance: CRETA & Malazy - My Peaceful Space – Maristella Martella (Italy)
At Darb 1718
7pm
Talk:Art Talk with Adel Abidin (Iraq) At Goethe Institute Dokki
8pm
Performance: Breach - Céline Burnand,Aly Khamees, Kanny Abdallah, Mohand Qader and Mohamed Bonga (Switzerland / Egypt)
At Goethe Institute (Dokki)
Sunday 4 November
12pm - 3pm Workshop: “While waiting for something to change (we) are having fun” workshop + installation with Lisa Batacchi (US/Italy)
4,5,6 November at Darb 1718
7pm
Talk: How Islamic Art can be used as dialogue in Contemporary Art Adriana Czernin (Austria)
At Darb 1718
8pm
Talk:Art Talk with Curator Valentina Levy (Italy)
At Darb 1718
9pm
Talk: Improvisation” in artistic practices: is there such a thing? - Faisal Samra (Saudi Arabia)
At Darb 1718
Monday 5 November
12pm - 3pm Workshop: “While waiting for something to change (we) are having fun” workshop + installation with Lisa Batacchi (US/Italy)
4,5,6 November at Darb 1718
7.30pm
Talk: Dinosaurs, the very, very big lie - Artist talk by Karem Ibrahim At Darb 1718
Tuesday 6 November
12pm - 3pm Workshop: “While waiting for something to change (we) are having fun” workshop + installation with Lisa Batacchi (US/Italy)
4,5,6 November at Darb 1718
8pm
Talk:The moment of the great shift Art talk with Shady El-Noshakaty ArtTalks
Wednesday 7 November
7.30pm Performance: Rapai Geleng dance Indonesian performance (Indonesia) At Darb 1718
Film: “Aisyah, Let Us Become Family”, 2016 - Herwin Novianto (Indonesia)
At Darb 1718
Saturday 8 November
2pm - 5pm Workshop: Sheila Zago (Brazil) At Darb 1718
Saturday 10 November 11am to 5pm Workshop: Lambe-Lambe: the Brazilian paste art by Alberto Pereira At Ezbet Khairallah
Sunday 11 and Monday 12 November
3pm to 6pm Workshop:Wall Painting by Amaro Abreu (Brazil)
At Ezbet Khairallah
Wednesday 14 November
6pm - 7.30pm Workshop: Conceptual Art Practices, by Rodeina Fouad (Egypt) 14 and 17 November at Darb 1718
7pm to 9pm Workshop: Grant-writing for Artists Ati Metwaly (Egypt)
At Darb 1718
Saturday 17 November
6pm - 7.30pm Workshop: Conceptual Art Practices, by Rodeina Fouad (Egypt) 14 and 17 November at Darb 1718
Monday 19 November
7pm Film: “Laurence Anyways”, 2013 – Xavier Dolan (Canada) At French Institute (Mounira)
Tuesday 20 November
8pm
Film: Frozen May, directed by Péter Lichter
At Balassi Institute
Wednesday 21 November
8pm
Talk: Private Museums in Egypt - Great Potential, Even Greater Challenges –Yasmine El Dorghamy (RAWI), Fatenn Mostafa Kanafani (ArtTalks), Nadim Elias (Sahara Printing Co.), Basel Dalloul (Noor Group)
At ArtTalks (Zamalek)
Thursday 22 November
7.30pm
Performance: Breach - Céline Burnand, Aly Khamees, Kanny Abdallah, Mohand Qader and Mohamed Bonga (Switzerland / Egypt)
At Darb1718
Sunday 25 November
7.30pm
Film: Crossworld, directed by Nur Wahid (Lebanon, 2016)
At Darb 1718
8pm
Film: Kinders, directed by Arash & Arman T. Riahi (Austria, 2016) At Darb 1718
Friday 2 December
4.30pm Performance: Playback Theather Performance - Dawar troupe
At Darb 1718
Monday 3 December
7.30pm
Film: Coconut Hero, directed by Florian Cossen (Germany/ Canada, 2014)
At Goethe Institute Dokki