The artists of Egypt and other Arab countries remain deeply saddened, angry and mostly helpless towards the ongoing tragic situation in Gaza. The Palestinian death toll as of Tuesday has now surpassed 10,000 people since 7 October, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
Egypt is among numerous Arab countries where artists remain divided in terms of what action should be taken when faced by the realities of Israel’s war on Gaza. Is it time for art and culture?
Published in The Africa Report
What is art’s role in such circumstances?
The question is especially valid as the last trimester of a year is always marked by an increased number of arts and culture festivals and other large events taking place across the Arab countries. The necessity of making right decisions pressures all cultural players.
Many creative bodies and cultural managers have cancelled the cultural activities expressing their “solidarity with Palestinian people”, while others continue to present their work, pondering the “the role of art in times of war.”
Egypt was among the first Arab countries to embark on a series of cancellations, postponing indefinitely a number of large-scale festivals planned for the following weeks: the 6th El-Gouna Film Festival (scheduled on 13-20 October), the 45th Cairo International Film Festival (15-24 November), 32nd Arab Music Festival and Conference (24 October – 2 November), and announcing the national mourning hence suspension of all artistic activities between 18 and 20 October.
This was paralleled with Tunisia turning the lights off on the 34th Carthage Film Festival (28 October-4 November), Qatar cancelling the 11th Ajyal Film Festival (8-16 November), and Kuwait suspending all events indefinitely including the Laylat Omar Festival featuring stars of the Arab world.
Oman called off all artistic events starting with the Omani Women’s Day ceremony (17 October) at the Royal Opera House Muscat, and UAE postponed numerous events including those at Dubai’s Coca Cola Arena’s October line-up of Egyptian megastar Amr Diab (the recent update points to a new date in November), alongside KISS, Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer.
For some, the show goes on
On the other hand, however, several events across Egypt and the Arab region continue as planned.
Saudi Arabia has just launched Riyadh Season, a large entertainment festival running until March while the Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah will take place as planned (30 November – 9 December). Same regarding the 20th Marrakech Film Festival (24 November – 2 December).
In Egypt, the 11th Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival, known as D-CAF (12 October – 5 November), the 15th Cairo International Jazz Festival (26 October – 3 November), Sharm El-Sheikh International Theatre Festival for Youth (25-30 November), are also among events committed to their announced schedules.
Undeniably, the avalanche of cancellations is an expression of solidarity.
“Many Egyptians [and Arab cultures] perceive art as joy, dancing, singing; it’s associated with a celebration. With this in mind, the call for cancellations of the events is not surprising,” Nayer Nagui, a principal conductor of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina Orchestra and artistic director of the Cairo Opera Orchestra, tells The Africa Report.
Several state and independent bodies have continued with their regular daily programming, leaving the artists to resolve the dilemma based on their cultural compasses, and for the audiences to decide if they should attend.
“It’s a matter of careful choices when presenting cultural activities,” Nagui says while pointing to his upcoming concert with the Bibliotheca Alexandrina’s Orchestra and Choir, featuring works by Sayed Darwish (1892-1923), a father of Egyptian popular music and “the knight of the revolution of patriotic songs in Egypt”.
The scene remains divided
Pressured by public opinion, the segmented Egyptian cultural scene assesses its calendars in an effort to do the right thing.
“There are many contradicting voices, pro- and against cancellations. No matter what we do, we will be subjected to many strong comments both ways,” Khaled Dagher, chairman of the Cairo Opera House, tells The Africa Report.
Dagher says that while the 32nd Arab Music Festival (24 October-2 November) was cancelled, which left all halls operating under Cairo Opera in the capital and in the coastal city of Alexandria completely empty, they have resumed their programme as of 3 November.
The festival was to feature 40 concerts and 120 artists from across the Arab world.
“Besides the festival, a few artists cancelled their concerts scheduled for coming weeks. We respect that, yet as a Cairo Opera we do not cancel anything,” he says, as the Opera embarks on a rich programming of Arabic and Western music.
Alexandria is also home to the iconic Bibliotheca Alexandrina (The Alexandria Library). Among many educational and science-related events, its breathtaking library and exhibition halls, Bibliotheca offers a large assortment of artistic activities, all of which remain uninterrupted.
“We have a lot of events, concerts, theatre plays, film screenings, events for children, in the pipeline. Artists do not cancel their events and the audiences are interested,” Neveen Kenawy, the head of programming at the Bibliotheca’s Arts Centre, tells The Africa Report.
She adds however that “when working on the schedule, we pay particular attention to the character of the event. This is not the best time for flashy entertainment. Until the end of 2023, we prefer not to host events that capitalise on a highly energetic cheerfulness”.
Engaged Art or Entertainment?
Kenawy’s words touch on an eternal polemic about the faint line between art and sheer entertainment, and the role of both formats in a society.
“At this time in particular, it’s important for people to have an outlet for expression, a space to breathe,” says Ahmed El-Attar, founder and artistic director of the Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival (D-CAF, 12 October – 5 November), a multidisciplinary festival and platform for contemporary voices to talk about their life and struggles through art.
“Of course, there is opposition to this view by people who perceive the arts as something frivolous or inessential, something that should be discarded and set aside in times of crisis,” he says, adding that art nurtures the minds of viewers and artists.
We do not surrender or die, but rather we affirm our survival by continuing to hold this cultural demonstration to challenge evil
Indeed, since its founding in 2012, D-CAF has hosted many international artists and a large segment of Arab creators through its hallmark Arab Art Focus.
“The artists who present their work at D-CAF are shedding light on human, social, and political issues. I won’t call it ‘engaged art’, but we do not present commercial art and we are using our platform to support Gaza,” says El-Attar.
This year, D-CAF has also cancelled the dynamic part of its music segment. Whether through the art itself, or by donating the proceeds of D-CAF’s shows to Gaza, or setting up the donation stands at different venues, the festival is actively involved in supporting the humanitarian relief efforts for Palestine. It is probably the festival’s ideology that gained the public’s approval.
The Cairo International Jazz Festival (CJF, 26 October – 3 November) was, however, subjected to both support and criticism on social media. Among the reasons might be the colourful fabric of the event.
“Cancellation means surrender and the victory of evil over good. We do not surrender or die, but rather we affirm our survival by continuing to hold this cultural demonstration to challenge evil,” says a statement released by the festival on 21 October in response to criticism.
“Cancellation does not benefit anybody,” says Amro Salah, the founder and artistic director of CJF, adding that the festival donated parts of the proceeds from its closing concert to strengthen the humanitarian relief efforts for Gaza.
A need for unified actions
As the voices pro- and against- artistic showcases multiply, still many artists seem paralysed by the contradicting public opinion, and some of them wait for the consensus.
Meanwhile, other venues in Egypt, and the region, started announcing new dates for the previously postponed events.
There has been some solidarity expressed by Arab musicians: a music video of the song Rajieen (We Are Coming Back). The eight-minute composition was released on YouTube on 31 October featuring ’25 exceptionally talented artists hailing from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region’, including a few known Egyptian musicians.
Presented as an anthem ‘that transcends boundaries, embodying resilience and resistance’, Rajieen’s lyrics touch on historical and political threads, and talk about the injustice and occupation of the Palestinian territories, while showing the footage from Israel’s current war on Gaza.
Ati Metwaly 