Treasured Trash

We can all agree that our fair nation is overflowing with a barrage of trash. We have more trash than we need, really. Not that anyone ever needs trash, but whatever. Moving on. The point is that a Treasured Trash workshop, part of the Museo Aero Solar, will be taking place in Cairo at Darb 1718. Now, for those of you who don’t know (don’t feel bad, we didn’t know about this until approximately 7 minutes ago), the Museo Aero Solar is a flying museum (it doesn't actually have fly, sadly) – it's basically a solar balloon made entirely of reused plastic bags that travels the world, adding new sections to it every time it lands in a new country, and it has been to Italy, the UAE and Columbia, among others. Naturally, Egypt, being the garbage-filled nation that it is, seemed like the next obvious stop. The "core of the museo resides in the inventiveness of local inhabitants." Treasured Trash is a community development project that will encompass two things essentially. First off, as part of the workshop, people are invited to bring their own plastic bags to add them to the balloon. There will also be a discussion about the concept of 'trash' and participants will receive free training in recycling art (it's a whole art?) by experts both from Egypt and broad.

We happen to think this is genius concept. Not only do the "contents coincide with the container" in an artistic situation, where the bags constitute the actual collection and at the same time collectively create the space where the piece is presented, but it's also an innovative use of something which is often discarded, being repurposed to create art, while actively involving the community. In addition to this, it challenges your understanding of both art and trash by reconceptualising your understanding of both. The talks will address "what trash is, what is truly wasted, and how we can deal with it as a community and transform it into something of value and beauty."

The project is being planned by and implemented at Darb 1718 and will take place from the 7^th to the 12^th of April in the Fustat area.