Photographer Coucla Refaat is preparing to launch her photography exhibition; “Nile Surfers”, within the proceedings of the fourth Cairo Photo Week, organized by Photopia, under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, Tourism Promotion Authority, and Ministry of Culture.
The exhibition, which is held between (6-18) May at Cairo Design District (CDD), presents a documentation, through photographs, of children singing on surfboards to entertain people on the Nile in Aswan. Basically, it is an extension of Coucla’s artistic project, through which she presents documentary photography of people’s customs and traditions, as well as a record of human activities in traditional communities.
Coucla stated, “Since ancient times, people have been interested in documenting memorable and special moments in their lives. That’s what we see on temple walls and in old documents in Egypt and worldwide. Thus, photography events are so important in encouraging artists to express their visions and document events that reflect the identity of communities”.
Coucla added, “In my works, I focus on highlighting the peculiarity of culture in communities and capturing the expressions of people’s presence in various occasions. That’s what I present in the ‘Nile Surfers’ exhibition, including photos of Aswan children skating on the Nile and singing in a way that we may not see anywhere in the world. These photos are regarded as an opportunity to enrich cultural dialogue and create a space for humanitarian and cultural relations between peoples, so that one can learn more about each other in remarkable moments”.
Photopia’s founder and executive director, Marwa Abu Leila, noted, “At Cairo Photo Week, we focus on presenting diversified photography trends to achieve a single goal; documenting rare and true moments that contribute to understanding different events and cultures. ‘Nile Surfers’ exhibition sheds light on different aspects of Aswan’s cultural uniqueness and children’s ability to communicate and show their excellence to others in a delightful way. Artists capture these moments and focus on sharing them with the world. That’s what we seek to present at Cairo Photo Week”.
Coucla is keen on telling stories and documenting cultures through photography. During her career, she has captured multiple special experiences and diversified rituals in countries like India, Indonesia and Thailand. Hence, she earned the title “Ambassador of Arts in Egypt” in 2010 for her artistic and documentary project, through which she presented the cremation rituals in Bali. It was displayed at the Embassy of Indonesia in Cairo. In 2012, she published “Dance of Life”, assigned by the Royal Thai Embassy in Cairo. The book documents, through photography, the journey of a young photographer in Thailand, with the aim of highlighting human relations and cultural communication between Thailand and the Middle East region.
It is noteworthy that the fourth Cairo Photo Week includes over 20 individual and collective exhibitions for professional local and international photographers. They also include international institutions, such as World Press Photo, Vogue, National Geographic, and Getty Images, in 14 locations in Downtown. Furthermore, Cairo Photo Week is to host over 100 discussion sessions, workshops, and live demos, with the participation of international experts and artists, in collaboration with multiple embassies, such as the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, France, Switzerland, and Denmark, along with the British Council and the European Union.
