AUC Alumni, Faculty Showcase Talent in Downtown Art Exhibition

The monthlong exhibition, Nothing Vanishes, Everything Transforms, at the Prince Mohamed Ali Tewfik Palace (Manial Palace) featured the works of 28 Egyptian artists, including AUC alumni Marwan El Gamal '12, Islam Shabana '13, Malak Yacout '15, in addition to Khaled Hafez, adjunct associate professor of design in the Department of the Arts, Shady El Noshokaty, professor of practice in the Department of the Arts, and Huda Lofti, who taught Arab cultural history at AUC from 1983 to 2009.

The show endeavored to highlight the diversity and complexity of Egypt's cultural landscape while simultaneously attracting the private sector's interest to give donations that help preserve the palace museum.

The show was curated by Nadine Abdel Ghaffar, founder of Art D'Egypte, a platform that organizes an annual contemporary Egyptian art exhibition in a different historical site every year. Last year's exhibition took place at the Egyptian Museum for one night. Malak Shenouda, '18 and Hana Al Beblawy '18 worked with Abdel Ghaffar on curating the art exhibit.

Several artists drew inspiration from the palace itself for their compositions. "I find it very interesting and challenging for me to think about creating a sight-specific idea for the Sham Reception Hall, thinking about the historical context of the palace," confessed El Noshokaty, as he explained how his project at the exhibition, "Colony-Sound of the Seven Tears" was inspired by the museum's historical collections.

Check out some of the exhibition art pieces below: