The exhibition - curated by Leipzig-based Constanze Wicke - is the result of workshops in Algiers, Casablanca, Tunis, Beirut, Ramallah, Amman, Khartoum, Erbil, Dubai, Alexandria and Cairo, organised by four branches of the Goethe Institute along with local partners.
This is not Wicke's first experience curating a large-scale exhibition related to Egypt. In 2012, she co-curated Cairo. Open City: New Testimonies from an Ongoing Revolution in the Museum of Braunschweig in Germany, which featured documentary and artistic photography following the events of the Egyptian revolution.
Next to Here visualises stories of urbanism, natural landscapes and people. The works document social and physical spaces betraying the diversity of sensitivities which the photographers approach in their environment. The one thing the artists have in common is their curiousity to capture the realities of the world around them and the people inhabiting it.
The exhibition is set to display in several other Arab cities following its Cairo debut.
Next to Here includes works by Karim Aboukelila, ElSadig Mohamed Ahmed, Maryam Ahmed, Mai Al-Shazly, Qais Assali, Fatima Al-Youssef, Shadi Baker, Othman Benjakkal, Mejdi El-Bekri, Tarek El-Marzougui, Galan Haji Omar, Awel Haouati, Alaaeddin Jaber, Hussam Manasrah, Nadia Mounier, Manar Moursi, Boris Oue and Marwan Tahtah.
The Egyptian works presented are the result of a workshop led by photographer Rana El-Nemr addressing the environment. The works were previously exhibited in Layer of Green in March 2014.
These works include: Green 64 by Maryam Ahmed, Inside - Outside by Mai Al-Shazli, Parks Under Siege by Manar Moursi and Consumership: We Don't Live Life in Our Countries, We Consume it by Nadia Mounier.
In addition to the Layer of Green works, Egyptian Alexandria-based photographer Karim Aboukelila will exhibit Reverse.
Source: Ahram Online