Nadine Abdel Ghaffar, a native of Alexandria, is the founder of Art d’Egypte and the iconic “Forever Is Now” annual modern art show. She joined MET&T at the fourth edition of “Forever Is Now,” set against the stunning backdrop of the Pyramids of Giza, to talk about her journey to becoming one of the leading visionaries of the modern art scene, the synergies created by bringing diverse international artists together in one place, and how she is uplifting and empowering women to lead in both the creation and business of art.
Interview by John Navarre, Editor-in-Chief, Middle East Travel and Tourism (MET&T)
MET&T: Can you tell us a little bit about your background and the background of “Forever Is Now?”
Nadine Abdel Ghaffar: I always reference koshary, which is a mixed meal in Egypt. So that’s me. I have Greek, French, Italian, Turkish, and Egyptian roots, including Coptic. So I must say that my Egyptian side is truly a descendant of the pharaohs. I was born and raised in Alexandria, a cultural city founded by Alexander the Great as a cultural city. And I think that this all thanks to my upbringing and thanks to the people that were around me when I grew up.
This initiative started in 2017. The first edition was at the Egyptian Museum, or the Tahrir Museum, which I’m sure you know and which, in my opinion, is like no other in the world. It’s a 1902 building. It’s beautiful because it has not changed a bit since then with its wooden showcases and the typewriter captions. It’s a museum that is really close to my heart.
So the first edition was there. It was a bit strange for everyone around us because this was a very unorthodox exhibition showing the transcendence we have with our heritage. And it was a success from the first day. We had collectors from around the world. We had actresses that came from Paris. And year after year, this initiative grew, but always with Egyptian artists.
So, the year after, it was at Manial Palace and then in historic Cairo in Muaiz Street. But in 2020, we were confident enough to go up to the government and say, “Okay, we’re ready to do an international exhibition here [at the Pyramids] because this is world heritage and it does belong to the world.”
It’s such a significant, iconic site and it has so many meanings. Thus, “Forever Is Now.” It is really a token of appreciation to humanity. For me, it’s a symbol that humanity will prevail, in my opinion.
It’s also a symbol that gathers the world around. We all know what the pyramids are. As you said, for any artist, it’s their dream to be written into history, and here they are now that they’re against the backdrop of the Pyramids. And at this point, the artists approach us. It’s really a dream to so many artists, whether they’re advanced in their careers or they’re younger artists.
I’m super happy to be standing here next to the Korean artist because for the first time, we have artists from Asia. And his artwork is also very significant because as you can see, there are hieroglyphs, he wrote in Korean, there are Arabic letters, and on the inside it’s children from around the world.
I think in this day and age, it’s an important message, you know, that children are allowed to dream and you can’t tell their differences. When you look at the pictures, the drawings, you cannot say that this child is from Korea or the US or Egypt. He’s an incredible artist, and I think that really goes with our message.
Watch the full video interview on The Egypt Travel Channel.
MET&T: You said from the first day, essentially, that Art d’Egypte was a success from your first event at the Tahrir Museum. But I know the hard part is probably making it look easy. Can you tell me about some of the challenges you faced in trying to do such a monumental project in monumental places that has not been done in a place like Egypt before?
Nadine: Yes, there were so many challenges, and I think this goes to so many countries. Archeologists in the beginning were kind of opposed. We’re a country where public art isn’t shown, and you don’t have really land art. We’re not in a place like L.A., so this was very unorthodox. But this shows the power of soft power. It’s such a strong tool.
But we had to make the public understand what we’re doing and the archeologists the officials understand the benefits of such an initiative. It’s incredible for cultural tourism. We have 250 art guides every year that we train under UNESCO. But to change the mentality and to be a pioneer, that’s the hard part.
Financially, it’s a struggle because at the end of the day, we rent the spaces that we work in and we democratize art. As you see, there’s no tickets to the exhibition itself. So it’s an extra challenge to bring in the private sector and change the mentality of the corporate world to see that such an initiative or event gets more exposure than a belly dancer or a singer, but they get more money. So, this is also an extra layer of challenge.
But the nice thing is that a lot of people have recognized our work worldwide. Some foundations have been patrons. Some companies such as Dior have supported us before. So we’re looking for more partners from around the world because really this has a global impact. Our PR value exceeds $50 million every event. I mean, it’s organic, the media goes crazy and people write about it all over the world.
Now in Korea, it’s insane. This artist was telling me that one publication there got a million impressions in less than a day. So this is also another way of connecting to the world by having such different artists. You know, this is national pride to have a South Korean artist here working alongside an Indian artist and an Italian artist, and a Greek artist and a British artist.
MET&T: It’s like the Olympics of art.
Nadine: Exactly. Yes, that’s a nice. I’ll use this one. But it’s true, and I think this is super important and it has a global impact. So the exposure is not just local or regional, but it is truly worldwide.
For our VIP opening, we had 300 international guests, including people from the Tate, Pompidou, Harvard. And this has helped us a lot. At least it gives us confidence that we’re on the right track.
This will always be the main exhibition, but we also have satellite exhibitions downtown, which I encourage you to go see because it’s incredible. We’ve opened up Cinema Radio, a 1930s-era old cinema that has not changed since the 1930s with the flickering art deco lights and the old paint, and we take over these spaces with contemporary Egyptian artists.
So, we have 100 Egyptian artists and all of these artists have done miniatures for this space. And this is also in downtown Cairo, next to Tahrir Square. It’s open to the public. People just go in and see the art. Some of the international guests buy the artwork. So, this is really creating a momentum.
And there’s a very vibrant, contemporary art scene. I mean, we’re a land of civilization. In Egypt, you sit in a cafe or you just talk to a porter from one of these old buildings and the stories you’re going to hear. We have so many stories to tell. And through art, we do that. We tell our own narrative, and we have the rest of the world come and also have a chance to tell their stories here as well. So I think this is also quite important.
MET&T: It’s almost kind of like an international conversation. Like you said, different pieces are telling different stories, but you have pieces from different nationalities, diverse artists, different languages.
Nadine: Exactly. And when you look at us, we’re a team of women and I’m very, very proud of them. This amazing team of women actually manage 150 workers every day with forklifts and cranes. It’s a huge undertaking.
And not only that, but for the workers, it becomes like national pride. They’re so happy to be part of this initiative and they start interacting with the artists even though they don’t speak the same language, but they kind of find a way. You don’t need to be speaking a certain language or be an art connoisseur to understand public art because, curatorially, we actually think of it differently.
From the very first edition, when we had over half a million visitors in a month. It went viral and we never ever expected to have such an influx of people. And you can see today, we have schools and universities that come. It became like a like a must-go and must-see, event for the local community and for people coming from different parts of Egypt.
The idea is also that by talking to so many people, I think it reverberates some somehow in the universe. So our curatorial direction every year has created a trilogy between the visitor, the artist, and the amazing civilization.
MET&T: What’s next for Art d’Egypte and “Forever Is Now?” Do you want to expand in other places in Egypt or worldwide?
Nadine: Definitely. We have actually a new initiative called A Tale of Two Cities that we started in June. The inauguration was at the Acropolis Museum. We were the first contemporary art exhibition to take place at the gardens of the Acropolis Museum. And the reciprocal exhibition happened on the 28th of October at the Library of Alexandria featuring some of the Greek and Alexandrian artists and artists from other coastal cities along the Mediterranean.
Alexandria is a Greco-Roman city, and you have Greek, Italian, French influences. At the end of the day, it really shows how the world is connected. I believe that I’m a global citizen, and I believe that the whole world is connected. So if you ask me, in ten years we want to be doing this everywhere in the world.
We opened a consultancy called Culturvator based in Dubai, which has actually consulted in Saudi. In Greece, we did a cultural program for the Onassis Foundation with the Cavafy archives. We’ve done Art Geneve in Switzerland. We’ve created a couple of exhibitions in London. So yes, definitely we’re ready.
MET&T: This reminds me where we started the conversation talking about the diversity of not only Egypt itself, but also how you’re bringing together art from all over the world and facilitating an international conversation through art with a woman-led team.
Nadine: I’m all for a woman empowerment, and I believe that women really make a difference. It’s unfair that sometimes the rest of the world sees women as the underdog in this region, which is not true, especially in Egypt. As you know, women ruled Egypt in ancient times.
I must say that every time I hire a woman, there’s about ten times more efficiency. Sorry, but that’s true. And I think there is also a movement in the region because I’ve worked with a lot of women in Saudi and in the UAE as well, and it’s incredible what they do. So, I think this is also something very nice to show how women are trying to have a voice here in our region, and we are really making a difference.
MET&T: Is there a way that members of the international public can support the work of Art d’Egypte from abroad?
Nadine: We do have merchandise and we do sell art. Yes, we have everything on Artsy. But all of this just happened organically. We’re a team of 15 people doing the job of 100. I mean, I work 18 hours a day. I almost take no time off. So, it is a challenge in that way, but it’s also a challenge because it’s such a different, unorthodox initiative where the benefits are not yet fully understood. There’s the whole creative economy around it, so it’s very important to have this support because it really has an impact on the ground.
Artists from around the world, no matter what religion they are or what country they’re from, are here. They’re representing their artwork. And we’re all gathering here for a message of peace at the end. We’re all the same, so hopefully peace will come soon.
MET&T: Well, if anybody can do it, I think it you can. Nadine, thank you so much. It was a pleasure.
Nadine: Thank you. The pleasure was mine.
