16/04/2025
The Photographic Gallery in the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication invites you to the annual exhibition of contemporary photojournalism as part of its ongoing collaboration with the Egypt Press Photo competition.
Egypt Press Photo is a renowned annual competition for national photojournalism, organized by the Syndicate of Journalists and run by the Photojournalists Collective. Now in its 19th edition, the competition continues to highlight exceptional work in the field.
This year, the Photographic Gallery has curated an exhibition dedicated solely to photo stories under the theme of subcommunities. A key role of photojournalism has long been to bring to the forefront the subcommunities that exist on the margins of society—whether these groups are united by profession, culture, sport, geographical boundary, or unique circumstances. This exhibition celebrates the work of both local professional visual storytellers and photographers, whose compelling documentation throughout 2024 has helped expand our visual understanding of Egypt.
In this edition, the Photographic Gallery also broadens its scope in terms of collaboration, programming, and venue. A series of talks will be organized, bringing together experts who explore photography as a medium from diverse perspectives—whether through distinct genres or academic lenses. This talk series will be part of the Cairo Photo Week program, organized by Photopia, and will take place at the AUC Tahrir Campus.
Photographers:
Ahmad Ashraf
Ahmad Gomaa
Ali Mustafa
Donia Said Kamel
Gehad Abdel Samie Ali
Mahmoud ElKhawas
Marco Latif Nassif Aziz
Zeinab Adel
Events:
Exhibition Opening
Wednesday 30 April, 1pm
The Photographic Gallery
Refreshments will be served
Talks Series at Cairo Photo Week
Monday 12 May, 6pm AUC Tahrir (Room HILL602)
How to Capture Light in the Darkness (in Arabic)
Lecture by award winning astrophotographer Amr Abdel Wahab
Tuesday 13 May, 6pm AUC Tahrir (Room HILL602)
Egypt Press Photo: Panel Discussion with Select Participants from the Annual Competition (in Arabic)
Moderated by Mohamed Hesham
Wednesday 14 May, 6pm AUC Tahrir (Room HILL602)
Decolonizing Images: A New History of Photographic Cultures in Egypt, Book Discussion by Ronnie Close & Farida Youssef. (in English)
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The Photographic Gallery
Room P059, Abdul Latif Jameel Hall
The American University in Cairo, New Cairo
Gallery Hours: Sunday - Thursday, 10am - 4pm
AUC Tahrir
Room HILL602, AUC Tahrir Square
Book your gallery visit through [email protected] (for non-AUC members)
Speakers:
Amr Abdul Wahab is an Egyptian Astrophotographer and Physicist, with a long academic career before he dedicated himself entirely to astrophotography in 2020. Since 2009, he taught at Cairo University and was guest lecturer at several universities in Egypt and abroad. He currently serves as the Head of the Astronomy Department in the Association of Doctor Mostafa Mahmoud, in Cairo. Abdul Wahab also founded 3 observatories, ElHayezz and Fayoum in Bahariya Oasis & Wadi El-Rayyan in Fayoum.
In 2010, he founded Astrotrips collective to share his passion for astrophotography with amateurs and a larger audience in Egypt and the Arab world.
Recipient of multiple awards and honorary titles, including the Creative Arab Youth award in 2020, NASA’s Photo of the Year award in 2022, and Best Scientific Photo from the Academy of Scientific Research in Cairo.
amrabdulwahab.com
Dr Ronnie Close is an Irish writer based in Cairo. His visual research projects examine the role of politics in image aesthetics. He has written two books, Cairo’s Ultras: Resistance and Revolution in Egypt’s Football Culture, (AUC Press, 2019), which looks at the cultural practices of local football fans and the politics of representation. The second, Decolonizing Images, A New History of Photographic Cultures in Egypt, (Manchester University Press, 2024), delinks the visual heritage of Egypt from the dominant narratives in the history of photography. He has published widely on critical theory in Visual Studies, Philosophy of Photography, Mada Masr, Membrana, Africa is a Country, amongst others.
Farida Youssef is a critic and curator based in Cairo. She is interested in the value of spatial theory for artistic inquiries. As a writer, she has published academic chapters, reviews and exhibition catalogues on twentieth and contemporary visual culture. She holds a masters degree in European philosophy from University College London.
Mohamed Hesham is a photojournalist, wildlife photographer and documentary filmmaker, based in Cairo. He teaches photography at the Faculty of Mass Communication in Cairo University, and at the College of Language and Media in the Arab Academy For Science, Technology & Maritime Transport. He serves as a board member in several local and regional photography initiatives. In 2010 he founded Multaqa al-Fotoghrafia, a monthly forum for photography professionals. Mohamed Hesham has been running the annual photography competition Egypt Press Photo for the past 9 years.
