PhotoCairo 3 (print version)

http://universes-in-universe.org/eng/nafas/articles/2006/photocairo_3
(Published: January 2006, print version)

PhotoCairo in its third edition was focused on the concept of "Positioning Statement", which is a marketing term referring to a proposition used by an organization to communicate its brand identity to target audiences. This statement is often communicated visually using a distinct image that the organization then disseminates across public channels and media platforms.

This use of the visual image to develop positioning strategies is common in the context of business and advertising, as well as political campaigns, the news and new media. PhotoCairo 3 explored the ways in which artists challenge, employ and re-imagine the reproducible image as a vehicle for positioning individuals and institutions within national, cultural, socio-economic and ideological contexts. By presenting a multiplicity of artists’ positioning strategies, PhotoCairo 3 aimed to transcend geographic boundaries to create an international platform for the debate surrounding contemporary visual cultures.

This 3rd edition of PhotoCairo was jointly organized by the Townhouse Gallery and the Contemporary Image Collective (CiC). The CiC is an independent artist-led initiative, founded in September 2004 by Heba Farid and Hala Elkoussy. It is dedicated to the study, production, and promotion of visual imagery borne out of Egypt and the region.

Overview of Events

Exhibitions:
Ursula Biemann
Christoph Büchel
Giovanni Carmine
Fernando Sánchez Castillo
Osama Dawod
Iman Issa
Emily Jacir
Basim Magdy
Jean-Luc Moulène
Rana El Nemr
Wael Shawky
Akram Zaatari

Film/video:
Series of film programmes, curated by Rasha Salti and organized in collaboration with CinemaEast Film Festival, including works by:
Eli Yazbeck, Sobhi el-Zobeidi, Mireille Eid Astore, Rabih Mroue, Malek Bensmail, Ahmed Zir, Maysoon Pachachi, Jean Pierre Lledo, Sepideh Farsi, Jack Janssen, Salma El Tarzy, Cynthia Choucair, Oleg Tcherny and Ozan Adam.

Memory, Identity and Social Order, Selected Video Works. Curated by Hala Elkoussy, including work by:
Igor Sevuk, Meiro Koizumi, Stefanos Tsivopoulus, Jill Majid, Mieke Van Der Voort, Narda Fabiola Alvarado, Sebastián Díaz Morales, Julika Rudelius and Fernando Sánchez Castillo.

Presentations:
Interventionist Art: the Creative Disruption of Everyday Life, by Gregory Sholette
The Use Value of Art and Political Art Practices, by Stephen Wright
Jean-Luc Moulene discusses his art practice
On Collecting and Stitching, by Akram Zaatari
a lecture that tries to speak of images but ends up being concerned with something else, by Hassan Khan
A Reading of the Contemporary Arabic Music Video Clip, by Emad Mabrouk

Panels:
Welcome to the Blogosphere and Beyond, with Naila Hamdy, Motaz Attalla, Abdel-Karim Mardini, Mohamed Yousri (moderator)
Constructional Position and Architectural Omission as Political Statement

Workshops:
Poster Design, by Ali Ali
Ana (Myself): Photography and Self-Representation, by Susan Hefuna
Reading News Photographs: Skills for Visual Literacy and Critical Thinking, by Jihan Ammar

PhotoCairo 3
11 - 31 December 2005
Exhibitions, video and film screenings, workshops, panels, presentations

Organizers:

Contemporary Image Collective
20 Safia Zaghloul St.
El Munira
Cairo 11462
Egypt
Website: http://www.ciccairo.com
Email: info@ciccairo.com

Townhouse Gallery
Hussein Pasha Street
Cairo
Egypt
Website: http://www.thetownhousegallery.com
Email: info@thetownhousegallery.com

Curators:
Aleya Hamza
Maha Maamoun

Film-/Video program:
Rasha Salti
Hala Elkoussy