The Rising Art Scene & Cairo's Youth
Vector or Raster?
The art scene in Cairo is saturated with people who talk too much and do too little; we are a culture that is exceptionally good at talking the talk. But as the proverb goes, in order for any success to actually come your way, you need to practice what you preach.
I am a person who enjoys going to exhibitions, seeing people create interesting and thought provoking work, and displaying it for others to contemplate is, in my opinion, brilliant. So naturally, I was thrilled, on a Sunday afternoon at work, when a few of my colleagues decided to head over to the thesis gallery for Graphic Design graduates at the American University in Cairo entitled "Vector or Raster?"
I am, afterall, an AUC alumna.
Art and Design has never been a glorified field in Egypt, on the contrary, it is one that has always absorbed the minority of students who are very clearly polarized between the ambitiously talented and the exceedingly lazy, aka. those who select this major as a means to graduation.
The exhibition itself featured a variety of concepts and mediums as well as display methods. From calligraphy, branding, sign language and print media to virtual reality, emojis, functional/awareness campaigns, jewelry design and renewable energy ideas; the students managed to cover a broad range of design application.
What impressed me most about this exhibition was not only the quality of work on display, but more so the cultural implications of AUC hosting an event of this caliber, confirming the exponential growth and rising importance of the underground art scene in Cairo.
Youth are integral to the development of any given field, and with a number of driven and talented minds presenting their ideas; it is clear that art as a profession with all its sub sectors and affiliate fields is continuously garnering respect and recognition locally.
It is important to noe that it was not any project in particular that made this exhibition stand out, so much so as the palpable energy and enthusiasm for artistic creation vibrating through the Sharjah Art Gallery.
“As humans we look at things and think about what we’ve looked at. We treasure it in a kind of private art gallery. ”
