7 Gamal El Din Abou El Mahasen Street, First Floor, Apartment 4, Garden City, Cairo, Egypt
Cairo
Egypt
- Arts
Medrar's objective is to develop contemporary art in Egypt in ways that maximize the participation of young and emerging artists. It offers them a space to have conversations on contemporary art, initiate and carry out collaborative projects and engage in a process of collective learning. A key goal is to share information in a horizontal way. It also provides artists support and exposure on the local and international levels.
Medrar aims to drive the interest of emerging artists by:
- Providing chances for access and experimentation.
- Organizing workshops, festivals and events.
- Encouraging participation and cultural exchange between Egyptian and foreign artists (lectures, collaboration-based projects or workshops).
- Creating space for dialogue between young artists and critics by producing critical researches.
Medrar hosts events such as exhibitions, film screenings, artist talks and forums that run in parallel to three main ongoing projects.
1- Cairo Video Festival for Video Art & Experimental Films
The Cairo Video Festival acts as the main window for Egyptian audiences to video art and experimental films from around the world. Through screenings, artist talks, and discussions, it offers a platform for conversations among video-artists, curators and the public, and a space for artists to showcase their innovative, low-budget video art productions. Works are selected through an international competition based on quality, authenticity and level of experimentation.
2- Open Lab Egypt
Open Lab Egypt proposes an alternative lifestyle of collaboration and experimentation. It focuses on Digi-Tronic arts that engage and invite audiences to be part of the creative process. Projects could be as surreal as mixing potato soup with a DVD writer and making it fly in the end.
3- Medrar.TV
Medrar.TV is a web-based channel that documents and puts forward visual content covering the independent art scenes in Egypt and other Arab countries. Coverage includes exhibition openings, festivals, performances, concerts, workshops, artist studio visits and various interviews. With a focus on delivering this content in Arabic and English Medrar.TV’s
main purpose is to make art more accessible to a wider audience.www.medrar.tv
Medrar would act as a key link between artists and creative workers in Egypt and members of the network, facilitating collaboration, exchanges and developments through its various projects and local networks
Medrar seeks to join the ALF Network:
- to open new possibilities and opportunities for collaboration with other cultural institutions and civil society organizations in the Euro-Med region
- Medrar focuses on moderating and taking part in exchanges with creative workers, linking artists and technologists in Egypt with those elsewhere (OpenLabEgypt is but one example). So it sees the network is a great platform conducive to such exchanges