Photo: P Medved

Sometimes Cairo can seem like a quixotic nightmare—a city feeding on nostalgia. Crumbling, remnants of colonial-European architecture, a centuries-old bazaar now touting tourist trinkets, 4000-year old pyramids and feluccas skimming the Nile, sails opened as if they were going all the way to Aswan instead of for an hour-long tourist ride.

Cairo tries to entice by presenting the ancient wonders of the world, but what about offering something new? Has Egypt been on the cutting-edge of anything these days?

Townhouse Gallery

If wandering the piles of stones under glass at the Egyptian museum is depressing enough and you’re itching to see something a little more modern from the ancient-capital make haste to the Townhouse Gallery,  a contemporary art gallery of Egyptian and foreign artists often working together to create novel and interesting pieces.

The three-story building and adjoining converted factory space offer a breathe of innovative air. The gallery does more than just art—it incorporates the surrounding locals in its projects. I once saw an exhibit in which the artists made a model-sized replica of the surrounding city-blocks. They displayed it and asked members of the community contribute ideas for changes to the neighborhood. The suggestions were rebuilt into the model over a period of weeks. The result: a lot more fast-food restaurants ...

The exhibit on offer when I last went was called “Where Are You?,” a group exhibit in cooperation with the Swiss Arts Council of foreign and local artists-in-residence premised on intercultural exchange. At times puzzling, but always interesting, artists of different nationalities and mediums were shown side-by-side using a variety of mediums.

Ahwa time

After taking in the refreshing works, join the neighbors in the ahwa (coffee shop) right outside the gallery. Watch out for shoe-shiners and fire-eaters, as well as the artists relaxing after a long day’s creation.

TOWNHOUSE GALLERY; 10 Nabrawy Street; Downtown Cairo