TMR<\/h4>\n
<\/p>\n
Mohamed Gohar, The Alexandrian<\/em>, an exhibition
\nMarch 23 \u2014 April 15, Janaklees Visual Art<\/a>, Alexandria, Egypt\u2014more info<\/a><\/h4>\nFrom NEOM along Saudi Arabia\u2019s northern stretch of the Red Sea to El-Alamein City on Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore, deserts and coastlines are being bulldozed and repurposed in Arab countries \u2014 both those that can afford it, and those who cannot. Some government planning decisions, quickly implemented by multinational architects, urban planners and developers, have been taken for prestige and rebranding, other times for economic reasons \u2014 more often under veiled promises of sustainability.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/themarkaz.org\/oldsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/The-Alexandrian-exhibition-Mohamed-Gohar.jpg\")
<\/a>The Alexandrian<\/a> exhibition.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nHowever, beyond the corporate boardrooms and ambitious blueprints, ordinary people in MENA cities share a lived experience, one that is too easily obscured or dwarfed by mega construction projects. It is this experience of the everyday which the exhibition <\/span>The Alexandrian<\/span><\/i> explores. Egyptian architect, researcher and artist Mohamed Gohar goes beneath the glitz of the mega-new-build to start a dialogue with ordinary Alexandrians about their city spaces.<\/span><\/p>\nInitially his research on Alexandria\u2019s cultural heritage emphasized a built environment in the throes of rapid change, of structures demolished or vandalized. In time, he shifted his focus from buildings to \u201cthe social behavior of the people using the buildings. Put together, this changes the urban fabric of the city.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nSo does he consider himself a \u201cpopulist\u201d architect? Gohar lives between Alexandria and Marseille, and works from a meticulous architect\u2019s office in Egypt\u2019s second largest city.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cArchitects are self-centered,\u201d he laughs depreciatively before continuing on a more serious note over Zoom.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cWhen you go into Alexandria at first glance you might find it chaotic or in a state of disorder. But in fact there is a huge system that is being managed by the people themselves. In order to understand and decipher this network you need to analyze the situation, speak to the people to learn, to try and understand their needs \u2014 what they\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nUnfortunately, observes Gohar, officialdom rarely undertakes a proper ground consultation, one that considers these street-level truths.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cWhat happens is that these groups come out of the blue and make complete change, and change is good\u2014 this is what we need as urban planners or architects. However it might not be sustainable in the end because the needs of the people are disregarded. So what happens in a short time after the restoration or work is done, people go back to their old habits. They reintroduce what they need from the city. It\u2019s a loop that keeps repeating itself.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nAlexandria, founded by Alexander the Great in 331 BCE next to a tiny Egyptian fishing village on the Mediterranean coast, is a city with a significant past. There\u2019s a chance that heritage obfuscates the real, modern needs of its inhabitants. Gohar admits he is interested in a city\u2019s voided spaces between the buildings.<\/span><\/p>\nThis idea is further explained in the formal description of his research in the exhibition\u2019s press release: he \u201cstudies spaces of social gathering and interaction among the community \u2013\u2018Society\u2019s living room\u2019 he calls it \u2026 then reconstruct[s] alternative\/parallel bottom-up social narratives of how society has been shaped by tangible and intangible inheritance, how it functions now, and how individuals adapt their physical environments to make their cities work for them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nGohar views his 12 drawings featured in the exhibition as \u201can exchange, which acts like a mirror.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nHe also welcomes the opportunity for a dynamic, interactive response to the exhibition, which will be hosted at Janaklees Visual Art gallery. Far from being a lofty architect, he wants to learn from conversations he expects to have with all manner of different people drawn to <\/span>The Alexandrian<\/span><\/i>. Such a dialogue, he hopes, will further inform his research on their expectations, experiences and uses of the city.<\/span><\/p>\n\u2014<\/span>Malu Halasa<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n
\nBook Discussion: No prison Can Confine your poem<\/em>
\nMar 23, Montigny-le-Bretonneux, France \u2014more info<\/a><\/h4>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n However, beyond the corporate boardrooms and ambitious blueprints, ordinary people in MENA cities share a lived experience, one that is too easily obscured or dwarfed by mega construction projects. It is this experience of the everyday which the exhibition <\/span>The Alexandrian<\/span><\/i> explores. Egyptian architect, researcher and artist Mohamed Gohar goes beneath the glitz of the mega-new-build to start a dialogue with ordinary Alexandrians about their city spaces.<\/span><\/p>\n Initially his research on Alexandria\u2019s cultural heritage emphasized a built environment in the throes of rapid change, of structures demolished or vandalized. In time, he shifted his focus from buildings to \u201cthe social behavior of the people using the buildings. Put together, this changes the urban fabric of the city.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n So does he consider himself a \u201cpopulist\u201d architect? Gohar lives between Alexandria and Marseille, and works from a meticulous architect\u2019s office in Egypt\u2019s second largest city.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cArchitects are self-centered,\u201d he laughs depreciatively before continuing on a more serious note over Zoom.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhen you go into Alexandria at first glance you might find it chaotic or in a state of disorder. But in fact there is a huge system that is being managed by the people themselves. In order to understand and decipher this network you need to analyze the situation, speak to the people to learn, to try and understand their needs \u2014 what they\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Unfortunately, observes Gohar, officialdom rarely undertakes a proper ground consultation, one that considers these street-level truths.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhat happens is that these groups come out of the blue and make complete change, and change is good\u2014 this is what we need as urban planners or architects. However it might not be sustainable in the end because the needs of the people are disregarded. So what happens in a short time after the restoration or work is done, people go back to their old habits. They reintroduce what they need from the city. It\u2019s a loop that keeps repeating itself.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Alexandria, founded by Alexander the Great in 331 BCE next to a tiny Egyptian fishing village on the Mediterranean coast, is a city with a significant past. There\u2019s a chance that heritage obfuscates the real, modern needs of its inhabitants. Gohar admits he is interested in a city\u2019s voided spaces between the buildings.<\/span><\/p>\n This idea is further explained in the formal description of his research in the exhibition\u2019s press release: he \u201cstudies spaces of social gathering and interaction among the community \u2013\u2018Society\u2019s living room\u2019 he calls it \u2026 then reconstruct[s] alternative\/parallel bottom-up social narratives of how society has been shaped by tangible and intangible inheritance, how it functions now, and how individuals adapt their physical environments to make their cities work for them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Gohar views his 12 drawings featured in the exhibition as \u201can exchange, which acts like a mirror.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n He also welcomes the opportunity for a dynamic, interactive response to the exhibition, which will be hosted at Janaklees Visual Art gallery. Far from being a lofty architect, he wants to learn from conversations he expects to have with all manner of different people drawn to <\/span>The Alexandrian<\/span><\/i>. Such a dialogue, he hopes, will further inform his research on their expectations, experiences and uses of the city.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a>\u2014<\/span>Malu Halasa<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n
\nBook Discussion: No prison Can Confine your poem<\/em>
\nMar 23, Montigny-le-Bretonneux, France \u2014more info<\/a><\/h4>\n