Here is a profile on its founder Mohamed el Ghawy. http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent ... hawy-.aspx
They also know how to do striking promotional images like the posters of the 20’s:
I’ve never heard or read a single bad thing about el Ghawy. Still, I’m sure that, eventually, his success will be punished.
Culturewheel is the first, and possibly last, private cultural center in Egypt, a country where culture is tightly controlled and heavily subsidized. His success is a painful critique of the poor management of everyone else in this sector and his story shows that international aid and NGO’s can have positive results.
Significantly they are commercially and culturally successful with no state largesse whilst extravagantly subsidized, poorly attended, western style ballet, symphonic music and opera for the rich are at seat prices of less than a glass of wine. For those with a memory of past misdeads, Farag of Luxor is/was head of the Opera House shambles where lots of taxpayers money produces little.
For the dipso’s- there is no booze – so it’s a case of a hip flask or get tanked before you go. Or both. Drugs are a no-no, so that keeps the ruling class brats away.
If you are in Cairo its very worthwhile popping in one night – there is bound to be something of interest. Only the boring would be bored. Tourists are in small numbers although a few disheveled, high and unwashed western aid workers posture as ‘old hands’. Its also friendly, safe and cheap and older people are made welcome.
They are on July 6th on the western border of Zamalek. Their web-site: http://www.culturewheel.com/.
With a cultural entrepreneur like Ghawy, Luxor could do a lot during the high season to put on ‘knees-ups’ to get pennies out of tight wadded packaged tourists. He is a good planner and manager and Luxor needs that and also knows how to make money honestly - a rare skill. Therefore, the mayor/governor could do worse than send a few Luxor locals for a six month internship to the Culturewheel. Better than bringing in another western consultant to propose an expensive master plan for night-life.
Another venue with a mixture of local jazz, film, dance and adapted traditional music, and which also has a very good café, is ‘Room’ in Garden City with a younger crowd, safe and not expensive. http://www.roomartspace.com/events/ and connected to the young(ish) ‘Mr Jazz’ of Cairo, Amro Salah http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent ... how-d.aspx
His next Cairo Jazz Festival is Downtown, 28-30 September. http://www.cairojazzfest.com/
The Jazz Festival also has good taste in graphics:
Again its hard to find a bad word about him and he doesn’t have (too much of?) his snout in the public trough.
With both of these characters its good to see that people of talent and ambition have stayed when leaving would have been an attractive option.
A website which tracks Cairo art, performance and architecture from a liberal progressive perspective http://www.cuipcairo.org/en - on its last legs but with a good interactive map of both established and less conventional cultural/entertainment venues
Experience is not what happens to you;
.
