In the hundred days since Hosni Mubarak was toppled, there has been an explosion of creative energy in the alternative arts.
Jack Shenker in Cairo
The Guardian, Thursday 19 May 2011
(An image in Midan Falaki created by Egyptian artist Ganzeer as part of his Martyr Murals project has since been painted over by government officials.)
"...In the 100 days since one of the world's most entrenched dictatorships was toppled, Egypt has borne witness to an explosion of creative energy seeking to memorialise, critique and carry forward the country's moment of revolutionary fervour, a process which has itself revolutionised the country's long-stagnant cultural landscape; buskers can perform without police permits.
"There's a discernible DIY spirit on the street at the moment," says Prof Elliott Colla, an Egyptian expert at Georgetown University. "People feel they can look after themselves following a revolution. They police their own blocks, they pick up their own trash, and they can paint on walls. They don't need permission from anyone.
"It's a fundamental shift. bBefore, the initial assumption regarding anyone doing anything on the street was always 'who let you do that?' Now the initial assumption is 'I can do that.'"
Crucial to this change has been the emergence of a counter-culture arts scene on the mainstream radar, a process Ganzeer likens to the growing popularity of Bob Dylan and other "indie" musicians in 1960s America....
....the most popular music to emerge from Tahrir was independently produced and distributed, such as the hugely successful Sout Al-Horeya (The Sound of Freedom) which has garnered more than 1.5m hits on YouTube.
But with Egypt's ruling generals vowing to shield the country from "chaos" and "disruptive influences" during the fraught post-Mubarak transition, there is no guarantee that the creative arts will secure themselves extra space to flourish in the long term.
In the past few weeks a row has erupted over the rights of theatre directors to censor productions, while a novel lamenting the deterioration of Egypt's culture by Ibrahim Farghali has been officially banned from sale.
"The real test will be many months on from now, when we'll see if the performing arts – those seeking to produce cultural expressions collaboratively and without state support – have found a viable model which enables them to do so," argues Colla.
"Graffiti is important because it signifies a changing dynamic over who commands public streets, but how do young playwrights and film-makers carve out an independent space for themselves in the new Egypt? It's going to take more than a can of spray paint to do that."....
"But culturally what we're seeing now is people, for the first time in their lives, taking control of the space around them and expressing themselves publicly in every way. There's a conversation going on in Egypt right now, and it's almost impossible for anyone to mute it.""
Jack Shenker in Cairo
The Guardian, Thursday 19 May 2011
(An image in Midan Falaki created by Egyptian artist Ganzeer as part of his Martyr Murals project has since been painted over by government officials.)
"...In the 100 days since one of the world's most entrenched dictatorships was toppled, Egypt has borne witness to an explosion of creative energy seeking to memorialise, critique and carry forward the country's moment of revolutionary fervour, a process which has itself revolutionised the country's long-stagnant cultural landscape; buskers can perform without police permits.
"There's a discernible DIY spirit on the street at the moment," says Prof Elliott Colla, an Egyptian expert at Georgetown University. "People feel they can look after themselves following a revolution. They police their own blocks, they pick up their own trash, and they can paint on walls. They don't need permission from anyone.
"It's a fundamental shift. bBefore, the initial assumption regarding anyone doing anything on the street was always 'who let you do that?' Now the initial assumption is 'I can do that.'"
Crucial to this change has been the emergence of a counter-culture arts scene on the mainstream radar, a process Ganzeer likens to the growing popularity of Bob Dylan and other "indie" musicians in 1960s America....
....the most popular music to emerge from Tahrir was independently produced and distributed, such as the hugely successful Sout Al-Horeya (The Sound of Freedom) which has garnered more than 1.5m hits on YouTube.
But with Egypt's ruling generals vowing to shield the country from "chaos" and "disruptive influences" during the fraught post-Mubarak transition, there is no guarantee that the creative arts will secure themselves extra space to flourish in the long term.
In the past few weeks a row has erupted over the rights of theatre directors to censor productions, while a novel lamenting the deterioration of Egypt's culture by Ibrahim Farghali has been officially banned from sale.
"The real test will be many months on from now, when we'll see if the performing arts – those seeking to produce cultural expressions collaboratively and without state support – have found a viable model which enables them to do so," argues Colla.
"Graffiti is important because it signifies a changing dynamic over who commands public streets, but how do young playwrights and film-makers carve out an independent space for themselves in the new Egypt? It's going to take more than a can of spray paint to do that."....
"But culturally what we're seeing now is people, for the first time in their lives, taking control of the space around them and expressing themselves publicly in every way. There's a conversation going on in Egypt right now, and it's almost impossible for anyone to mute it.""
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