​Baad El Bahr for Cultural Development organized an Open Atelier for the FRTR chosen artists, who will work in a great and open space located at the Kodak Corridor Downtown. The artists will work from July until the end of August and during the production of the artworks, the Atelier will be open to the public. After collecting the needed materials and organizing the working spaces, the artists, supported by the FRTR team and volunteers, will start the production of the artworks.  A great variety of recycled materials will be used such as glass, paper, plastic, fabrics, metals scraps, tires, bottles tops, and more. People can walk in and observe all the phases of the artworks production.

The artists will be in the garage working hard on their upcycling and recycling projects: come and meet them!

When: 10 th July – 31 st August

Where: Adly Street, Kodak Corridor, in front of the Jewish Synagogue

Time: 10 am -9 pm every day except Friday

​FRTR is glad to host its first special guest, Dutch artist Daan Dijkstra.

Through his company LOGIC WORKS Daan supports the vision of a world in which waste, by being transformed into somethings else, ceases to be waste. In his hometown in Amsterdam, Daan creates benches and couches out of the remains of old boats, and chairs out of old bathtubs. By bringing unusual elements together Daan gives discarded materials a second life.

Daan’s up-cycled objects, such as his boat benches, can be found in many different places around Amsterdam. Some of these pieces have been acquired for specific public spaces, while others are displayed in key locations as a form of urban guerilla intervention.

From July 10 th to July 20 th , Daan will work with FRTR’s commissioned artists to provide them with a refreshing perspective on the utilization of idle spaces and objects.

To find out more about the artist please visit the website http://www.logic.works/home.html

​Stefania Angarano, a Cairo based Italian curator and Director of Mashrabia Gallery of Contemporary Art in Cairo, will hold a lecture about art in public spaces.

She will present From Rags to Riches, a pioneering project devoted to public art made out of recycling material. Angarano will explain the innovative mission and the goals of the project to the wide audience of students and professors of the Faculty of Applied Arts.

She will focus on explaining how the recycling materials can have an artistic potential and how they can become a hidden treasure when subjected to an artistic and creative process.

The art talk will suggest also, how FRTR aims to address the search for a better quality of life and the positive process of changing how a city’s residents both see and experience the surroundings that they share.  
​
The talk will be held in Arabic
 
WHEN:  9 May, 2016
WHERE: Faculty of Applied Arts – Helwan University
               3, Zewail Street, in front of Al-Orman Park, Cairo

​

As part of From Rags to Riches' platform. FRTR has screened the documentary Waste Land in several cultural institutes in Cairo followed with a Q&A session.

Waste Land is a 2010 British-Brazilian documentary film directed by Lucy Walker. The movie records the work of Brazilian artist Vik Muniz in the dump site of Jardim Gramacho, in the outskirts of Rio De Janeiro (Brazil), where he collaborated with the community of the catadores (garbage collectors) to turn disposable materials into artworks. 
Waste Land premiered at the important Sundance Film Festival in 2010, and was nominated for an Oscar as Best Documentary Feature in the same year.

After the screening, we have presented the project From Rags To Riches, and answered questions during a Q&A session. 

Language: Portuguese & English (English subtitles)
Duration: 100 minutes

The film was screened at the following places.
​
April 10th
Mashrabia Gallery
8, Champollion St. – Cairo.
02 257 84494
7pm

April 17th
NVIC – Netherlands Flemish Institute
1, Dr Mahmoud Azmi Street
Zamalek
02 27382522
7.30pm 

April 20th 
Yunus Emre Institute 
22, Babel St. (off Mossadeq St.)
El Dokki, Giza
02 37621873

April 26th
Balassi Institute - Office of the Hungarian Cultural Counsellor
13 Gawad Hosni Street (2nd floor)
Abdin, Downtown
02 23926692

May 4th
Italian Cultural Institute
3, Sheikh el Marsafy St.
Zamalek
02 27355423

The screening of Waste Land is part of the various educational activities of From Rags to Riches, a project of up-cycled public art in Cairo. The project combines for the first time in Egypt two sensitive topics: the re-use of discarded materials and the attention toward public spaces (more info:www.projectfrtr.org). 

The project is initiated by Baad el bahr and curated by Mashrabia Gallery

​​

From Rags To Riches was featured in ART TALKS, a yearly series of meetings focused on different aspects of culture, and organised by EUNIC (Network of National Cultural Institutes of the European Union). 
 
Within the round-table on public and private spaces in relation to artistic creativity The Use of Space, curator Stefania Angarano presented FRTR as a pioneering example of a project of public art in Egypt.   

The panel discussion brought together French, Italian and Egyptian specialists at the Goethe Institut.

Keynote speakers:
• Henri-Pierre JEUDY, sociologist at the CNRS, writer and author of numerous books on the social uses of art, and on the relationship between art and public space.
• Franck LAMY, curator, responsible for temporary exhibitions at MACVAL, Musée d'Art Contemporain du Val-de-Marne.
• Marco SCOTINI, curator, art director of FM (Frigoriferi Milanesi) Contemporary Art Center, and head of visual arts sector NABA Milano (New Academy of Fine Arts) in Milan.
• COOREN Bruno, Director of Culture and International Relations of the City of Dunkirk. Head of International Relations at the Dunkirk Urban Community and the City of Lille. His interests and focus include the intersections between cultural development and transnational opening on the contribution of cultural policies for sustainable development.
• Stefania Angarano, a Cairo-based Italian curator and Director of Mashrabia Gallery of Contemporary Art. In cooperation with Baad El Bahr for Cultural Development she is currently curating the project From Rags to Riches, devoted to public art made by recycled materials. 
• Hany Rashed, Cairo-based Egyptian artist.
• Ammar Abo Bakr, Cairo-based Egyptian artist.


Moderator: Sandro Cappelli, cultural attaché of the Italian Cultural Institute.


The Use of Space is organised by the Italian Cultural Institute, the Institut Français d'Egypte and the Goethe Institut.

Goethe Institut in Downtown Cairo on March 9th, 2016 at 6pm. 
​
-- 
Mashrabia Gallery of Contemporary Art
Daily except Friday, from 11pm to 8pm
8, Champollion St. Downtown, Cairo, Egypt
Tel: (+202) 
​25784494
www.mashrabiagallery.com

About the workshop
Get your hands on the materials and discover their potential!
In order to foster competences in view of participating in the open call for proposals launched by Baad el Bahr and Mashrabia Gallery of Contemporary Art (see website at www.projectfrtr.org), we seek10 participants for a 2-weeks workshop led by artist Vahan Telpian in Kayan, Wadi Breka El Atshan.
 
The workshop offers the best opportunity for training artists and increasing their skills in the use of disposable materials for the creation of artworks for public spaces while sharing knowledge through practical engagement and group co-working. 
Based in a totally eco-friendly village, participants will learn to deal with a wide range of waste brought to the shore by sea waves and garbage from the surrounding urban area.    
 
Who Can Participate
Applications are open to Egyptian and Egypt-based visual artists, designers, architects, and art students without age restrictions. 
Participants must demonstrate a visible commitment and engagement to tackled topics and issues.  
 
Workshop Timeline
The workshop will be an intensive 2-weeks programme, fromApril 15th to April 29th
Workshop sessions will commence daily at 10.00am and end at 6.00pm.
Participants must be available for the full 2 weeks.
NB. Workshop will be held in Arabic 
 
Workshop Facilitators
Egyptian artist Vahan Telpian has a specific background in upcycled art production. He will guide the participants through the workshop by mixing theoretical and practical approaches.
 
How to Apply?
The application deadline is April 5, 2016.
 1. Current resume/CV: 2 pages maximum
2. Documentation of your work – NOT compulsory
3. Motivation letter
NB. Applications should be sent in a single pdf file to
[email protected]
Please note that selected participants will be notified by April 9, 2016
 
Workshop Costs
The participation in the workshop has no tuition fees. The organisation will cover travel costs and accommodation.
 
For additional information, please contact
Ahmed at [email protected]
 
Please note that the participation in the workshop is not compulsoryfor applying to the call for proposal for the exhibition (available at:http://www.projectfrtr.org/call-for-proposals.html )
 
From Rags to Riches is conceived and developed by Baad El Bahr Cultural Association and curated by Mashrabia Gallery of Contemporary Art
www.projectfrtr.org
​