Saeed and Alaa, a couple of glass artists in Cairo!
Glass has a long tradition in Egypt, with Pharaohs making core-formed wares and
decorating sarcophagi and tombs, the Arab dynasties refined enamelling, influencing
the Muranese in technique and style. Now-a-days glass wares are predominately
produced in traditional colours and forms and are sold in the old souks (markets),
giving an impression that glassmaking in Egypt is craft kept alive by the artisans. Little
is known that studio glass is alive in Egypt. Graduates from the Applied Arts department
at Helwan University in Cairo set-up studios in Cairo and Alexandria, and hope to be
represented by one of the galleries in Zamalek, one of Cairo’s trendy neighbourhoods.
Amid the political turmoil that erupted last week, I was lucky to meet Saeed Hussain and
Alaa Ayman, both graduates of the Applied Arts Department at Helwan University, in
Cairo. They both specialized in glass and design, and are now trying their best to support
themselves with their art.
Saeed Hussain and Alaa Ayman
in their studio in Maadi, a
suburb outside of Cairo
Saeed and Alaa established a studio last year in Maadi, a chic neighbourhood just south
of the city. Situated above a small shopping mall, the 600 square foot space is divided
into thee rooms, an office, a reception and gallery and the atelier where 2 small kilns
are set up. Boxes filled with shards of glass wait for Saeed and Alaa’s creative ideas to
transform the material into something special.
High costs and availability make it difficult to acquire coloured glass, and so the pair has
decided to take matters into their own hands, mixing powders and oxides themselves
that they buy at the market in old Cairo. The medieval street is lined with shops selling
powers, acids, and chemicals for any industry. By now Alaa can tell you off handed,
the constitution of various colours in glass. They even created their own compound to
prevent colours from burning during the firing process. For Saeed and Alaa, their colour
palette is a mix of colours that occur naturally in the Egyptian surroundings: hues of
blue and brown, green and yellow dominate their work. They call their studio ORE,
relating to the natural occurrence of minerals and metals in nature.
Working with moulds is another challenge for the pair of artists. Plaster can be messy
and unsustainable, not to mention costly, so the pair have solved the problem by using
stainless steel which they discovered can withstand the 1200 degree temperatures of
the kiln. The majority of their income is generated through commissions of panel work,
stained-glass doors and Alaa recently started producing pendants that have become
quite popular. They have been lucky, too, as a gallery in Zamalek decided to sell their
works of art!
- Nadania Idriss, Berlin, Germany
This trip to Cairo was part of the fieldwork required for a PhD in Art History at the Freie
University in Berlin. I am happy to report that I have spoken to Saeed and Alaa on the 1st
of February, as soon as communication was restored. They are both well and hope their
studio in Maadi is doing okay..