US Embassy Sponsors 1st Ever Alexandria Photo Week

The U.S. Embassy is proud to sponsor the first-ever Alexandria Photo Week, February 1 to 10. Through a partnership between Photopia and U.S. Embassy Cairo, Alexandria Photo Week will host photojournalists, commercial photographers, filmmakers, and photo documentarians from Alexandria and the Nile Delta, across the Middle East, and around the world. The program will feature events held in seven major cultural centers around Alexandria, including the Jesuit Cultural Center, B'sarya for Arts, Graeco-Roman Museum, Amideast, 6 Bab Sharq, French Institute, and Greek Cultural Center.

As a part of Alexandria Photo Week, the U.S. Embassy is proud to sponsor a workshop by National Geographic Society photography and videography expert, Dr. Shivan Parusnath, who will meet photographers and filmmakers looking to become new National Geographic explorers in Africa.

The U.S. Embassy is also proud to showcase an exhibition of the late photographer Farouk Ibrahim’s work as part of Alexandria Photo Week. The Farouk Ibrahim - The Legend’s Lightbox exhibition will unveil unique and never-before-seen photos of U.S. President Jimmy Carter and the late Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, in addition to a rare selection of photos of President Carter’s visit to Alexandria. The exhibition will also showcase 80 rare Alexandria photographs from the 1950s to 2011.

Finally, the U.S. Embassy is sponsoring the Sard (Narrative) exhibition, which is a series of documentary photography exhibitions curated by Photopia that showcases a powerful visual and written narrative through diverse photos and stories about Alexandria and the Delta as photographed and narrated by photographers from across Egypt.

According to U.S. Embassy Cairo Minister Counselor for Public Affairs Ruben Harutunian, “The United States is proud to sponsor the first-ever Alexandria Photo Week, and looks forward to this event becoming an annual event representative of the regional talent which has already propelled Alexandria to the forefront of Egypt’s cultural landscape. We are inspired by the display of diverse and dynamic talent from the Delta region. We are honored to once again showcase an exhibit of iconic works by the legendary Farouk Ibrahim, who so skillfully captured the history and friendship between Egypt and the United States.”

The U.S. Embassy’s support for Alexandria Photo Week is a part of its broader and long-standing collaboration with Egyptian arts and cultural organizations to support a thriving creative economy, promote tourism, and preserve the diverse cultural heritage in Egypt. Through decades of partnership, the U.S. Government has invested in protecting Egypt’s extraordinary cultural heritage and ensuring local communities benefit from the growing tourism industry. Alexandria Photo Week features more than 40 lectures, talks, and networking events that are free for the public to attend.