cairo design week returns for its second edition

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cairo design week 2024 returns to the egyptian capital

From February 23 to March 2, Egypt’s leading design platform Cairo Design Week will transform the capital into a bustling creative hub celebrating art, design, and cultural heritage. Converging and catalyzing the growth of the Egyptian design industry, the second edition expands on the success of the first, extending across the city’s major design districts including Heliopolis, the historic Citadel, and Downtown. With additional design pockets in Zamalek and Maadi, a vibrant fusion of artistic and cultural exchange will unfold through an array of exhibitions, panels, workshops, immersive experiences featuring both regional and international designers and experts. With over 70 exhibitors and 60 speakers, experiences will include fashion exhibitions and brand activations, photography exhibitions, and workshops led by leading institutions centered on the exchange of knowledge.

all images courtesy of Cairo Design Week

workshops and exhibitions enliven Downtown Design District

The first of its kind in the MENA region, the Cairo Designathon established in 2020 seeks to generate positive social impact through design. Operated by KAIROS CDC as a collaborative design movement, the initiative spotlights and accelerates innovative design thinking, in solving global and local urban and social problems. At Cairo Design Week 2024, Cairo Designathon is organizing its fourth official round, with six multidisciplinary design challenges spanning architecture, interior, furniture, product, fashion, and graphic design. At Radio Theatre, DeForum, Egypt’s first and strongest design Forum launched in 2021 covers a diverse breadth of topics including architecture and the built environment, industrial and product design, media entrepreneurship, heritage, and urban development.

At Cinema Radio, Film My Design’s Edible Aesthetics program presents a curated selections of films, discussions, and a workshop series centered around the intricate relationship between culinary art and design. Commercial developer Wander also launches its experiential platform GET TO WANDER in the heart of the Downtown Cairo, which unfolds as an immersive experience inviting attendees to wander through a journey that challenges preconceived notions, fosters connections, and highlights the beauty of diversity in design.

At Kodak Court a series of workshops fostering learning and public engagement. Studio34 offers engaging sessions around creative education specializing in architecture, interior, and furniture design, while DESiGNDUSTRY hosts a variety of workshops, competitions, and creative games while offering a platform for participants to explore and recognize their skills across various design domains. Additionally, Cairo’s Workshop provides a range of hands-on courses and workshops exploring woodworking.

fashion design and brand experiences activate the Citadel

At the Citadel of Saladin in Dar El Darb, the Fashion Design District curated by Mai Galal and Maison Pyramide showcases the art of fashion design, featuring a wide range of international and local designers. The exhibition comprises a diverse selection of fashion pieces, immersive brand experiences, and a special area dedicated to sustainable fashion. A partnership between Cairo Design Week and the Creative Industry Summit, Youssef’s Well further takes over the Citadel with two stages – one dedicated to design and another focused on fashion.

cultural exchange at Heliopolis

C.Reality will present an exhibition at the Al Cayan building celebrating its two decades-long ‘standing the realm of furniture design. The space presents a metropolitan-themed brand experience, integrating modern aesthetics with cultural richness — from the traditional culinary nuances to the expansive allure of deserts and the beauty of old towns. Beyond, Coventry University’s Figure is an introspective experience of the evocative power of the abandoned and scattered figures in our surrounding contexts. On the roof, the Phlog Experience immerses guests in an array of multi-sensory installations giving rise to voices from the Phlog community, inviting engagement with the rich tapestry of Egyptian society through multiple mediums of photography. The Photopia Hub also presents two photographic exhibits by two prominent photographers from Egypt and the USA, coupled with a rich educational program related to image-making.

In Ghernata Palace, through the lens of six designers the GLC Experience sparks an exploration of what communal living with color and nature means, pondering aspirations of what an ideal home should be 100 years from now. SYNC, Egypt’s creative school, also hosts curated talks, exhibitions, and design challenges, collaborating with industry leaders to share technical know-how. In Villa Ahmed Helmy, the eccentric Divaz exhibition converges culture, craft, art, and heritage, celebrating the timeless typologies that shape Arabian culture with a contemporary twist.