Egypt Cultural Week to open more doors for artists
Egyptian Ambassador to Malawi Maher El Adway has said that the just-ended Egypt Cultural Week has helped open more opportunities for artists.
The Egyptian Cultural Week organised by the Egyptian Embassy and the Malawi Government through the Ministry of Civic Education, Culture and Community Development started on July 17 and ended on July 25.
El Adway said this year they brought in more artists and that there was a good connection with artists from Malawi.
He said this platform was a win-win situation for both Malawi and Egypt in that apart from artists showcasing their works, the two countries were also exchanging cultures.
“This is the third year and we are willing to come again. This cultural exchange needs to grow and we would want Malawian groups to come to Egypt,” he said.
El Adway said he will do everything he can to support the process of Malawian artists coming to Egypt.
“We will explore this so that Malawian artists also show their works in Egypt. Malawi and Egypt are moving in the right direction in culture particularly and there is a lot of things to be done. We also need to work in other areas as well,” he said.
Egyptian pianist and visual artist Farid Fadel said the Egyptian Cultural Week offered him an opportunity to visit Malawi and southern Africa for the first time.
“This is my first time out of Egypt to southern Africa. What I have seen is that Malawi has very kind people and its land is green and people are religious. I am also a Christian and so I had time to go and play a piano at St Peters Church and this was special,” Fadel said.
The artist revealed that he brought in a collection of 21 artworks and that his choice was on building bridges between two cultures.
“What I have discovered through this exhibition is that Malawi and Egypt cultures have similarities despite the distance. I also had time to interact with several artists including Elson kambalu and it was very enriching,” he said.
Minister of Civic Education, Culture and Community Development Cecilia Chazama said the objective of this year’s event was to bring cultural awareness to the youth and empower them for leadership roles.
The Third Egyptian Cultural Week was characterised by several cultural activities that were celebrated under the banner of Celebrating Cultural Diversity.
She said there were a lot of success stories in Malawi and Egypt bilateral relations.
“Some of such fruits are evident in the sector of culture,” Chazama said.
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