With the Great Pyramids of Giza as its backdrop, Art D’Egypte’s annual art spectacle is back, and this is its largest edition yet. The third iteration of Forever is Now will take place from Oct. 26 to Nov. 18, following two successful editions in 2022 and 2021.
The event, which was launched by Nadine Abdel Ghaffar two-years-ago, is a major attraction for art enthusiasts from around the world. This year, 14 contemporary artists will be displaying their work under the theme of “Play.” Interactive sculptural artworks will be displayed on the Giza plateau in a space of serendipity, chance, and experimentation that invites viewers to engage with each installation. Nevertheless, viewers get to create their own artistic experience, altering the outcome of each work, making it an evermore personalized artistic experience— Forever is Now 03 strives to blur the lines between artist and viewer in a multitude of ways.
“This year will be our most ambitious yet with 14 participating artists— the biggest programme we will stage to date. The forthcoming edition, like previous iterations, will aim and continue to create unexpected and energizing dialogues between humanity’s ancient past and its contemporary present— ultimately demonstrating the enduring influence of ancient Egypt’s cultural heritage and its ongoing ability to inspire both the artistic and public imagination in novel ways,” said Abdel Ghaffar in a released statement. “Both Egyptians and international visitors alike will be able to interact and experience contemporary art in the context of this legendary, ancient monument.”
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Some noteworthy highlights of this years edition include Belgian conceptual artist Arne Quinze’s circular Lupine sculpture that will provide a viewpoint into an isolated vista of one of the pyramids and its invisible axis lines; Paris-based multidisciplinary artist Dionysios’s geometrical installation based on instructions to artificial intelligence to imagine different prayers on light; American sculptor Carole Feureman’s hyperrealist sculpture evoking Hathor— the ancient Egyptian goddess of love and fertility; Bahrani artist Rashid Al Khalifa’s fragments of a labyrinth, emerging from the ground at varying angles, each inscribed with motifs sourced from a 1679 work Turris Babel (The Tower of Babel) written by the Jesuit scholar Athanasius Kircher; and Pilar Zeta’s limestone portal sitting amidst gold and blue spherical objects, a checkerboard pathway and a mirrored egg and more to be released soon.
As the first and only contemporary art exhibition to be held at the 4500-year-old UNESCO World Heritage site of the Pyramids of Giza and its surrounding plateau, Forever is Now brings together artists around the globe to reflect on humanity’s most captivating and mysterious structures. Using the interests and practices of these artists, the annual art exhibition seeks to trace the continuity of themes that stretch from our ancient past to the present day, while paying tribute to human creativity and reflection.
Read on to discover all of the participating artists in Forever is Now 03.
Arne Quinze (Belgium)
Artur Lescher (Brazil)
Azza Al Quibaisi (UAE)
Carole Feuerman (USA)
Costas Varotsos (Greece)
Dionysios (Greece)
JR (France)
Mohamed Banawy (Egypt)
Pilar Zeta (Argentina)
Rashid Al Khalifa (Bahrain)
Rashed Al Shaishai (Saudi Arabia)
Sabine Marcelis (The Netherlands)
Sam Shendi (Egypt & UK)
Stephan Breuer (France)
