With immense pleasure, Pro Helvetia Cairo announces the projects selected for “On the Road Again” open call.

The projects bring together art and cultural institutions from across the Arab Region and Switzerland in various art disciplines.

Meet the projects: 

In Beyond / Au delà 

Curated by Swiss artist Danaé Panchaud, this photography project brings together two collectives from Morocco and Algeria, KOZ Collective and Collective 220 respectively. The project aims to make the border between Morocco and Algeria a gateway rather than a wall. The border that separates the two neighbouring countries, with shared history, geography and genealogy sets apart families who used to live together, and now know very little about one another.  

In this project, Algerian and Moroccan artists share and cross their views and exchange stories to propose a common artistic work that goes beyond the border. The project will be coordinated and curated by Swiss curator Danaé Panchaud, director of Photoforum Pasquart and the Geneva Photography Centre. Read Panchaud’s curatorial statement on the project here. 

 

100/100 Hundred Best Arabic Posters Conference 

An international Graphic Design conference in Cairo organised and hosted by the 100/100 Best Arabic Posters competition that aims to document the Arab visual culture. The project is a partnership between The American University in Cairo, the German University in Cairo and Warehouse 421 in the United Arab Emirates. 

The three-day conference features 6 graphic design workshops by Swiss graphic designer Erich Brechbühl, besides internationally renowned graphic designers Wael Morcos (LB), Ali Almasri (JO), Mobius Studio (UAE), Archief Cairo (EG) and Nora Aly and Ahmed Hammoud (EG). On the final day, a panel discussion will be held including all workshop instructors to create a debate and exchange of ideas from the different angles of what Arabic Graphic Design can contribute to the regional and international cultural field. All activities are open to the public. Stay tuned for registration information. 

 

Mapping Possibilities 

A media art festival with a focus on audio-visual performances. This edition tours Cairo and Amman under the theme “Technology and Fiction”. The project is a collaboration between Mapping Possibilities Collective (Egypt) and Drowned By Locals Collective (Jordan), with the participation of Swiss artist Niculin Barandun alognside artists Jacqueline Polonie (Yantan Ministry), Castell Lanko and Deena Abdelwahed, the festival features new live audio-visual performances, workshops and talks in Cairo and Amman. 

 

Habibi 

The result of the close collaboration between Swiss Cie Apsara, Tunisian Thérap’Art  and Algerian Sindjab Theatre, Habibi  a theatre production on the theme “gender violence”, based on a theatrical improvisation workshop that was held in Tunisia in Summer 2021. During the workshop, Cie Apsara was inspired by real life stories from Tunisian women and turned them into theatre with local actors. Another edition of the workshop is planned to be held in Algeria in early 2022 in collaboration with Sindjab Theatre. The play will tour Tunisian and Algerian venues and festivals between October 2021 and February 2022.  

Habibi – It is a story of a couple. They come home and the action takes place. She is the central pivot, and He is the free neutron. She does not speak. Her inner voice -recorded on a soundtrack- is on playback. She expresses herself only bodily, in transpositions where she tries to evade violence, to get out of her body, to be elsewhere, to escape from Him.