Director’s note
by Ahmed el Attar – Artistic Director of D-CAF

On 25 January 2011 we began the first day of our lives both as individuals and as a nation.

On that day a glimpse of hope was born, a new future was perceived, and a different reality materialized.

Hundreds of millions around the world felt immeasurable admiration and awe as they sat in front of their TV screens and witnessed a new Egypt rise from the ashes. Those moments showed that knowledge, beauty, truth, love and hope are universal and that they are not the property of any one nation, civilization, group or individual; that true greatness lies in our belief that nothing is impossible nor unassailable.

It was in this atmosphere of renewal that Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival (D-CAF) held its first edition.

In this second edition of D-CAF we continue to uphold the power and importance of art and culture, especially in challenging times. We continue to believe in the importance of embracing the world with open arms and living our lives with hungry spirits.

This year D-CAF will bring to Cairo some of the best international and regional theatre productions, music performances, visual art installations and much more. We bring you works of the highest artistic and technical standards that touch on themes ranging from broader socio-political reflections to more intimate abstract moments. With works that challenge the mind and stir the heart, D-CAF invites audiences to think, to feel, and to imagine with us.

We will also seek once more to highlight that public space is the space for the exchange of values and practices between people, and that while politics and protest have paved the way in the last two years, art is another legitimate means of engaging with the world.

We hope that the festival will provide a space for ideas to be discussed and projects to be planned, for audiences to be inspired and provoked, and that it will allow the people of Cairo and Egypt to see their city in a new light, create new ideas and meet with people from around the world.

We look ahead to this month, this year, and this era with hope and courage.

Finally, we would like to thank all of those who believe in D-CAF, without whom this would not have been possible: Our staff, partners, supporters, sponsors, artists, friends and of course audiences.

Enjoy.