1500 Contemporary Art Pieces to Be Exhibited at Cairo Art Fair, Kicking off This Weekend

The 4^th edition of the Cairo Art Fair (CAF IV), exhibiting more than 1500 pieces by over 120 Egyptian artists, will be kicking off on Friday 7^th of December until 14^th of February at ArtsMart Gallery. 

Striving to represent an accurate and authentic reflection of the contemporary Egyptian art scene, CAF IV will be featuring a melting pot of artworks boasting a variety of styles, techniques and mindsets.

Hosting famous artists to up and coming artists and everything in between, the dynamic exhibition keeps art enthusiasts constantly engaged by changing the displays over three rounds to include as much of the art pieces as possible.

CAF was born from one artist’s belief and passion in the potential of Egypt's art scene to flourish and gain international traction if nurtured correctly. Co-founder of Cairo Art Fair and ArtsMart Gallery, Lina Mowafy, is the artist who is looking to shed light on Egypt’s contemporary artists. 

“The art scene is progressing and people are starting to grasp the importance of art as a representation of civilization’s progression and its culture” says Mowafy. “What’s important is that there needs to be a consistent unified synergy on how all those in the art scene can work together to complete each other rather than working against each other by competing.”

The seed which sparked the creation and growth of Cairo Art Fair came after the success of several exhibitions held by ArtsMart Gallery at the Four Seasons, which had garnered international attention by media like the CNN.

“CAF is a very hands-on experience in terms of preparation. We work very closely with the artists and we’d like to represent the artists’ different beliefs, backgrounds and mindsets through the versatile nature of the works shown at the exhibition. So there’s abstract art, figurative art, different genres expressed through different disciplines like painting, sculpture and photography.”

ArtsMart Gallery, which is an online as well as physical art gallery, came to life when Mowafy decided to create the opportunity - one she couldn't find herself - to Egypt's booming art scene. 

"I'm an artist so when I'd previously approached several art galleries a few years back, they weren't interested in showing works of up and coming artists. So we decided we'd create a channel to support and encourage young artists, and it's accessible to everyone, everywhere. Arts-Mart Gallery is basically in a warehouse and that's exactly the location we were looking for because we want people to have an immersive experience. That wasn't going to be possible in central Cairo because the spaces are small. We have about 5000 art pieces." 

Lina Mowafy is a full-time painter, who's known for her choice of vibrant colours that embody the city's chaos and the beauty of human connection. 

Here are just a few of the pieces that'll be exhibited. 

Ayyad Alnimer

Moustafa Rahma

Sayed Saad Eldin

For more info, click here.