The 2016 Dubai Design Week Iconic City exhibition Cairo NOW / City Incomplete captures design at a particular intersection of time and place. Cairo NOW captures for the first time under one roof Cairo’s current design landscape. The exhibition's title takes its inspiration from the infamous visual impression of Cairo’s red brick housing stock in varying stages of completion. The aesthetics of incompletion permeates Cairo’s design culture in content and form. Incompleteness is a reflection of the city’s status quo: continuous expansion into the desert with partly realized satellite cities, speculative urbanism where buildings are never fully completed to avoid taxation, and the tendency to leave a bit of extra concrete sticking out of buildings' roofs in hopes of adding additional floors in the future. This visuality of incompletion is also a sign of unrealized potential, possibilities waiting to be materialized. Cairo NOW spans fields of design ranging from graphic and typeface design to product and furniture design as well as architecture. The exhibition sheds light on the city's emerging designers who, despite the lack of a marketplace or an infrastructure supporting their practices, continue to innovate, to revive bygone traditions with a contemporary edge, and always take Cairo as their muse and as the source of their creativity. Director/Cinematographer: Ahmed Tahoun Assistant Director: Amina El Banna Camera Operator: Kamal Samy Editor: Yasser Azmy Colorist: Muhammed Ibrahim Music Composer: Ryan Taubert Assistant Producer: Marwa El Zomor
The 2016 Dubai Design Week Iconic City exhibition Cairo NOW / City Incomplete captures design at a particular intersection of time and place. Cairo NOW captures for the first time under one roof Cairo’s current design landscape. The exhibition's title takes its inspiration from the infamous visual impression of Cairo’s red brick housing stock in varying stages of completion. The aesthetics of incompletion permeates Cairo’s design culture in content and form. Incompleteness is a reflection of the city’s status quo: continuous expansion into the desert with partly realized satellite cities, speculative urbanism where buildings are never fully completed to avoid taxation, and the tendency to leave a bit of extra concrete sticking out of buildings' roofs in hopes of adding additional floors in the future. This visuality of incompletion is also a sign of unrealized potential, possibilities waiting to be materialized. Cairo NOW spans fields of design ranging from graphic and typeface design to product and furniture design as well as architecture. The exhibition sheds light on the city's emerging designers who, despite the lack of a marketplace or an infrastructure supporting their practices, continue to innovate, to revive bygone traditions with a contemporary edge, and always take Cairo as their muse and as the source of their creativity. Director/Cinematographer: Ahmed Tahoun Assistant Director: Amina El Banna Camera Operator: Kamal Samy Editor: Yasser Azmy Colorist: Muhammed Ibrahim Music Composer: Ryan Taubert Assistant Producer: Marwa El Zomor