Al Azhar Park to host outstanding artistic event in Egypt, 'The Migrating Gallery'

Hassan Behnam, Director of Ubifrance regional presse office, announced that this project was born from the meeting of two women: Sylvie Blanchet-Kartsonas, French architect, interior designer and art curator, and Dr Ragaa Mansour, Egyptian art amateur and collector. The aim was to encourage artists and ordinary citizens exchange their cultures and go beyond globalization matters without hurting the treasure of their cultural diversities, specially that the three countries illustrate perfectly the particularities of artistic creation around the Mediterranean sea.

From November 21st to 30th, all amateurs of art, culture, history and civilization will be able to watch the works of Egyptian artists such as Adel El Siwi, Faten El Nawawi, Hayam Abdel Baki, Shawky Ezzat, Reda Abdel Rahman, Assem Sharaf, Mohamed Abla et Dina El Gharib as well as several French artists : Corinne de Battista, Valérie Gho, Patrice Benassy, Catherine Vigier et Xavier Desprès six greeks: Giorgos Krallis, Christos Kechagioglou, Anastasia Katsidis, Lazaros Maravas, Stephania Mizara et Dimitris Tiniakos.

On the eve of the project Union for the Mediterranean, this original exhibition that will take place for the first time in Cairo, will contribute to pave the way for a better understanding of the Mediterranean basin in the cultural sector, a field that carries many similarities.

The final declaration of the Paris Summit held on July 13th 2008 with the co-Presidency of France and Egypt, mentions the cultural objectives: "Promotion of the intercultural dialog and the mutual understanding" and "Translation of the process in concrete and more obvious to citizens' projects".

According to the organizers, this new project named "Migrating Gallery" that will bring together for the first time Egyptian, French and Greek artists works at Al Azhar Park in Cairo, will then travel between the three capitals, along the Mediterranean Line, with three to six shows per year, giving this project the label of "cultural bridge".

The principle of the "Migrating Gallery" is simple:
• Opening of a new space in which artists are placed in the center of a process of exchanges, dialogues, meetings, debates and confrontations, aiming to better catch and understand the foundation of their art.
• Lighting the relationship between artistic moves and roots, weight of the history and the messages brought from the appropriation of a common historical heritage in a context of globalization, what bring the artists closer to one another and what distinguishes them from this unto the possible of an individual recognition as an artist.
• Organization of one to two private shows per year of contemporary artists in each country: France, Greece and Egypt, each time in a different place.
• Sale of the displayed artworks to a new public of amateurs and collectors through a more direct circuit, in rupture with the traditional market of art.