Ganzeer

Politics and Artistic Genre

Political street art was not common in Egypt prior to the 2011 revolution, however it has proliferated in public spaces in the post-revolution era.

Regarding the genre of artistic production in which he participates, Ganzeer has said that "I'm not exactly a graphic designer, nor am I a product designer. I am not particularly a street-artist or comic book artist, nor am I an installation artist, writer, speaker, or video-maker. But I've had the chance to assume one of those roles at different periods of time and in different locations around the world." Indeed, in addition to his better-known street art, Ganzeer has produced artistic content for "magazines, events, projects and musicians." Ganzeer rejects the label of "street artist," having said that "Being called a graffiti artist is something that I'm entirely against. It's not really fair to other real street-artists because I'm not necessarily a street artist, and I don't think in street art terms."

Artwork In 2011, Ganzeer created a series of murals depicting "martyrs" who were killed during the revolution, calling these "Martyr Murals".

Comics Ganzeer has also created a few comics, including his debut graphic novel The Solar Grid (2019).

Exhibitions This Should be Made Public – Goethe Institut, Cairo, Egypt – 2007 Everyday Heroes – Townhouse Onsite, Cairo, Egypt – 2007 The One Minutes – Rawabet Theatre, Cairo, Egypt – 2008 Tashkeel Gallery, Dubai, Cairo, Egypt – 2008 Urban Artists – Tashkeel Gallery, Dubai, UAE – 2008 Art Threesome – Foundation B.A.D, Rotterdam, The Netherland – 2008 Cairoscape – Uqbar, Berlin, Germany – 2008 Radius of Art – Kiel, Germany – 2008 Up Yours – Kran Film, Brussels, Belgium – 2008 Shatana International Workshop – Shatana, Jordan – 2009 Why Not? – Palace of the Arts, Cairo, Egypt – 2010 Noord – Mediamatic, Amsterdam, the Netherlands – 2010 Cairo 20x20 – The Mascot Gallery, Toronto, Canada – 2011 Arabic Graffiti & Egyptian Street Art – Tutankhamun Exhibition, Frankfurt, Germany −2012 Katowice Street-Art Festival – Katowice, Poland – 2012 Expressoes da Revolucaode – Contra Cultura, Porto Alegre, Brazil – 2012 Newtopia: The State of Human Rights – Museum Hof Van Busleyden, Mechelen, Belgium −2012 Theatrefestival Basel – Kaserne Basel, Basel, Switzerland – 2012 Ruptures: Forms of Public Address – The Cooper Union School of Art, NYC, USA – 2012 The Virus is Spreading – Safarkhan Art Gallery, Cairo, Egypt – 2012 Left-to-Right – Kunstquartier Bethanien, Berlin, Germany – 2012 (K)harya "Freedom or Shit" – Hotel Viennoise, Cairo, Egypt – 2013

Publications

Arabesque – by Ben Wittner, Sascha Thoma, Nicholas Bourquin – Gestalten, Berlin, Germany – 2008 Ruins of the Future – by George Azmy and Ganzeer – Contemporary Image Collective, Cairo, Egypt – 2008 From the End – by Ganzeer – Self-Published, Cairo, Egypt – 2009 Arabesque 2 – by Ben Wittner and Sascha Thoma – Gestalten, Berlin, Germany – 2011 Wall Talk: Graffiti of the Egyptian Revolution – by Sherif Boraie – Zeitouna, Cairo, Egypt – 2012 Revolution Graffiti – by Mia Grondahl – AUC Press, Cairo, Egypt – 2013 Newtopia: The State of Human Rights – by Katerina Gregos and Elena Sorokina – Ludion, Antwerp, Belgium The Apartment in Bab El Louk – by Donia Maher, Ganzeer, and Ahmad Nady – Merit Publishing, Cairo, Egypt – 2014 Walls of Freedom – by Don Stone and Basma Hamdy – From Here to Fame Publishing, Berlin, Germany – 2014

Presentations, lectures and debates

Ganzeer has given a number of public lectures around the world on art and design. These presentations are often described by participants as semi-performative, high on humor, very informative and ultimately engaging.

Art-Threesome – Foundation B.a.d, Rotterdam, Netherlands – 2008 Pecha Kucha Night – Off Corso, Rotterdam, Netherlands – 2008 Going Dutch, Habibi – Contemporary Image Collective, Cairo, Egypt – 2008 Medrar's 14th Open Meeting – Medrar, Cairo, Egypt – 2009 Visual Pollution in the Middle East – Nuqat Conference, Kuwait – 2010 TweetNadwa – Tahrir Square, Cairo, Egypt – 2011 Cairo Institute for Human Rights, Seminar No. 18 – Cairo, Egypt – 2011 Culture in Action: A debate between Ganzeer, Guy Sorman, and Rachida Triki – European Culture Congress, Wrocław, Poland – 2011 Internews Conferences – Portemilio, Lebanon – 2011 Social Media & Street-Art – Sanaye3 House, Beirut, Lebanon – 2011 Forum Liberation de Lyon – Lyon, France – 2011 Horreya Tour – Berlin, Hamburg, Bremen, and Cologne, Germany – 2012 Street-Art and Political Protest Culture – Right-to-Left, Berlin, Germany – 2012 The War of Art / HIAP Talks – Helsinki, Finland – 2013 Re:Public – Kiasma Museum, Helsinki, Finland – 2013 Seminar: We Are Open – Checkpoint Helsinki, Kiasma Museum, Helsinki, Finland – 2013 Art & The Political – D-CAF, AUC, Cairo, Egypt – 2014 Alwan Festival Talks – Al Riwaq Art Space, Adilya, Bahrain – 2014