EGYPT X BERLIN
A video art project in cooperation with Khaled Hafez and BTK University of
Applied Sciences in Berlin
From April to July, 2013, 25 students of the BTK University of Applied
Sciences (Berlin) created audio-visual works focusing on the topic “Egypt in
Berlin”. There were no given boundaries so the students were free to choose
a personal theme and to use technologies and methods of their choice. The
results are 11 very different videos gathered under the headline “EGYPT X
BERLIN”.
Khaled Hafez, one of the best-known contemporary artists in Egypt, was
enthusiastic about the project from the very first beginning and visited Berlin
three times to mentor and support the BTK students during the development
of the works. The production of the videos was guided and monitored by the
BTK professors Claudia Rohrmoser and Christian Mahler.
EGYPT X BERLIN was part of the accompanying program of the touring
exhibition “TUTANKHAMUN – His Tomb and his Treasures” in Berlin, the
capital of Germany. All videos were exclusively shown from July 19th until
September 1st, 2013 at the foyer of the exhibition.
“TUTANKHAMUN – His Tomb and his Treasures” was produced by the
German company Semmel Concerts, which runs the exhibition since 2008.
It was seen by more than 4.5 million visitors in Europe and Asia, and is
currently on display in Prague and Geneva. Since the beginning Semmel
Concerts supports the cultural dialogue between Egypt and Germany by
inviting Egyptian artists, speakers, writers, thinkers and exhibitions to the tour
destinations.
About Khaled Hafez
Khaled Hafez is born in Cairo in 1963 where he currently lives and works.
He studied medicine and followed the evening classes of the Cairo fine arts in
the eighties. After attaining a medical degree in 1987 and M.Sc. as a medical
specialist in 1992, he gave up medical practices in the early nineties for a career
in the arts. He later obtained an MFA in new media and digital arts from
Transart Institute (New York, USA) and Danube University Krems (Austria).
Hafez practice spans the mediums of painting, video, photography, installation
and interdisciplinary approaches. His artwork has been exhibited at biennales
like Manifesta 8 as well as those in Havana, Bamako, Mercosur, Cairo,
Thessaloniki, Singapore, Sharjah and Dakar, to name but a few, and can be
seen at renowned galleries and museums around the world.
About BTK
The BTK University of Applied Sciences is a private, officially recognised
University of Design, located in Berlin. BTK inspires challenges and trains
the creative minds of the future in two Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) programs –
Communication Design and Photography – as well as in the Master of Arts
(M.A.) study program Design / Media Spaces.
The rapid digitalization of media has changed the professional role of designers
during the last twenty years, making it more challenging and more varied. At
BTK, modern design is combined with the traditional aspects of applied art and
the innovative possibilities of new media. BTK offers interdisciplinary study
programs, which enable students to explore the interface of both analogue and
digital means of visual expression, and in so doing, help them to influence and
determine the future of design.
5th Cairo Video Festival
Video Art & Experimental films
Opening Wednesday, 25 September 2013 at 7 pm
Daily from 25 September to 7 October 2013, Except Fridays
Loop videos from 4 to 7 pm
Screening program from 7 to 10 pm
Over span of two weeks, the festival presents a diverse program of experimental film
and video art from all around the world. The selection was made from hundreds of
received applications to highlight recent experiments in these fields. The screenings are
followed by special sessions led by guest filmmakers and program curators to present
their work and discuss it with the audience.
The 5th Cairo Video Festival seeks to becomes a platform for all those experimenting
with the medium of film and video.
5th Cairo Video Festival is supported by The Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC),
Foundation for Arts Initiatives FFAI, and Semmel Concerts.
Organized by
partners
supported by
Medrar for Contemporary Art
7 Gamal El Din Abou El Mahasen St, First Floor, Garden City, Cairo, Egypt
www.medrar.org
info@medrar.org