The Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival (D-CAF) is a major event in Cairo’s cultural landscape. This year, its 12th edition promises to be rich and varied, bringing together artists and performances from all over the world for a celebration of contemporary art in all its diversity.
The upcoming edition of D-CAF will take place from October 17 to November 10, investing in various emblematic locations in the Egyptian capital to offer a rich artistic panorama. From traditional theaters to more atypical exhibition spaces, the festival is set up in the heart of Downtown Cairo, highlighting the rich social and architectural heritage of the district.
Among the highlights of the program, the Performing Arts section opens with the innovative production “Taste Me”, the fruit of a collaboration between Egypt and France, combining culinary arts and theater in an unprecedented way. Rawabet Art Space, an iconic venue for Egypt’s independent theatre scene, will host no fewer than seven performances from different cultures, offering a glimpse into contemporary artistic creativity.
With the support of its partner Al Ismaelia for Real Estate Investment, D-CAF will invest in new restored iconic venues, such as the Kodak Passageway and the Kodak Corner Shop, providing an original setting for performances such as “Table Top Shakespeare” and “Nazeh’s Lexicon”. This marriage of heritage and contemporary art reflects the festival’s desire to reinvent urban spaces through art.
The Visual Arts and New Media programme will invest in the Victoria Rooftop, with the Egyptian performance “Where Do Dreams Go?”, testifying to the vitality of the visual arts scene in Cairo. Workshops led by renowned artists such as Philip Bolay and Lotte Sigh will offer participants the opportunity to explore new forms of artistic expression, thus promoting the transmission of knowledge and techniques.
The D-CAF is not limited to the performing arts, as it will also invest in unusual locations such as restaurants and cafés in the capital to offer new artistic experiences. This approach, which translates into in situ performances such as “No Such Thing” by the British troupe Quarantine, illustrates the festival’s desire to create bridges between art and everyday life, thus offering festival-goers a total immersion in the artistic universe of the D-CAF.
In short, the Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival (D-CAF) promises to be an unmissable event on the international art scene, testifying to the vitality and diversity of contemporary creation. By supporting the Egyptian and international art scene, the festival helps enrich Cairo’s cultural landscape, offering spectators a unique and immersive artistic experience.