The second CARAVAN Festival of Art was held in Cairo, Egypt in January-February 2010 at the historic St. John’s Church / Maadi, Cairo, titled “Harmony: East and West.”
The visual art exhibition involved 46 noted Middle Eastern and Western artists. A literature night was held with Anglo-Afghan New York Times best-selling author Tahir Shah, as well as a closing musical concert wtih the world renowned Iraqi oud (lute) player Naseer Shamma.
HARMONY
The exhibition was officially opened by The Rt. Rev. & Rt. Hon. Richard Chartres, Bishop of London and Sheikh Ali Gomaa, the then Grand Mufti of Egypt; both gave addresses. Twenty percent of all sales proceeds went to Egyptian charities helping the poor.
CURATOR
Roland Prime
British artist Roland Prime served as the curator for the 2010 visual art exhibition of the CARAVAN Festival of the Arts. He graduated from Canterbury Christ Church College with a B.A. in Fine Arts where he studied painting and drawing; through the exploration of art his work became gradually more three dimensional.
Once qualified in welding, this background led him to also creating large sculptures in steel made from the discarded pieces of metal from the steel industry, a recycled art form, gaining public and private commissions in the process. On his painting, he says, “I had always wanted to paint and explore the variety of expression that can achieved through painting.”
ARTISTS
The 46 premier Middle Eastern and Western participating artists included a diverse range, from one of Egypt’s leading contemporary artists, Mohammed Abla, to renowned ceramicist Mohammed Mandour, to the celebrated Norwegian artist Britt Boutros Ghali and Roland Prime. Each artist submitted one piece of original work done for the exhibition that reflected the title, “Harmony: East and West.”
Mansour Ahmed
Miriam Forham
Mohamed Abla
Mohamed Mandour
Naguib Mahmoud
Naseer Baroody
Omar El Fayoumi
Randa Fakes LoGerfo
Rania Anis
Rania El Hakim
Reda Abdel Rahman
Sabah Naim
Salah El Meligy
Saleh Abd el Sabour
Samia Hosny
Soha Abou Hussein
Ahmed Nossier
Ahmed Selim
Asmaa Takieddine
Bishop Mouneer H Anis
Farid Fadel
Hisham El Zeiny
Isolde Kadry
Maher Ali
MIDDLE EASTERN ARTISTS
WESTERN ARTISTS
Anne du Boistesselin France
Britt Boutros Ghali Norway
Carolyn Seaton USA
Cath Barnes UK
Connie Fiorelli Australia
Cosima Lukashevich USA
Dorian Haqmoun Switzerland
Emma James UK
Herbert Grimm Germany
James Crabb Wales
Julie Klimentos Greece
Julie Oxenforth UK
Katrina Vrebalovich Norway
Kimberly Odekirk USA
Lucy Westwood UK
Maaike Draper-Albers The Netherlands
Marielle van der Woude The Netherlands
Neil Crouch Canada
Renee van Lille-Demetroudes South Africa
Roland Prime UK
Silvia Davies Germany
Thomas Hartwell USA
FILM
On 1 February 2010, the legendary late Egyptian actor Omar Sharif gave a talk on interfaith relations, followed by a screening of his interfaith film Hassan and Morqos (in which he stars together with actor Adel Emam).
Mr. Sharif has been given numerous honors, such a three Golden Globe Awards, and a medal by UNESCO for his contribution to world film and cultural diversity.
LITERATURE NIGHT
On 30 January 2010, Anglo-Afghan New York Times best-selling author Tahir Shah (the son of the famous Sufi writer Idries Shah) gave a talk on his books followed by a book-signing.
Tahir Shah is a champion of what he calls "the East-West Bridge", and he devotes a lot of time and energy into establishing and promoting a "cultural bridge" made up by those who, like him, are both from the East and from the West....believing passionately that people such as he, have a responsibility to "show the East to the West, and the West to the East, highlighting the common cultural heritage of the two, and working towards a common goal.
MUSIC
On 3 February 2010, the world renowned Iraqi oud (lute) master Naseer Shamma gave a solo performance at the CARAVAN Festival of the Arts, within St. John’s Church. Of the event, Naseer Shamma said, “It was always my dream to play inside a church. This deeply moved me.”