Wael Shawky is Artist in Residence at Cittadellarte – Art office from 11 April to 24 May 2010 to produce the video installation “Cabaret Crusades” for his solo show “Contemporary
In the exhibition "Contemporary Myths", the artist will present a series of recent works (video, installations and drawings) investigating and reporting intersections between politics, culture and religions, highlighting dichotomies and contradictions set in social norms. Shawky fits his explorations in his own original cultural and geographical context, but the perception of issues such as modernization, cultural hybridization and marginalization have an international significance.
On the occasion of this exhibition project, Cittadellarte will produce a new video installation by Wael Shawky, based on the filming of a puppet wire. The video ‘Cabaret Crusades’ will investigate the history of the Crusades in XI-XIII centuries, between European Christians and Muslim armies in Asia Minor and Eastern Mediterranean areas. Although the subject is based on historical events and documents, the result of the work holds a surreal and mythical atmosphere, a mixture of drama and cynicism in telling facts. which are distant, but relevant as ever.
“Cabaret Crusades” is a production created and promoted by Cittadellarte – Pistoletto Foundation in collaboration with Festival Theater der Welt (
The Egyptian artist has received numerous international awards for his work including the International Award of The Islamic World Arts Initiative, the Grand Nile Prize in the Sixth Biennial of Cairo, and in 2009 he won the Grand Prize in the Twenty-Fifth Biennial of Alexandria. Shawky exhibited at the Fiftieth Venice Biennale and the Ninth Istanbul Biennial. He participated in thematic exhibitions of contemporary art in important institutions such as the Townhouse Gallery of Contemporary Art, Cairo; Artists Space, New York; MACRO, Rome; Martin Gropius Bau, Berlin; Kunsthalle Fridericianum, Kassel; Tate Modern, London.
Wael Shawky lives and works in Alexandria. Shawky completed his BFA at The University of Alexandria, followed by an MFA at the University of Pennsylvania in 2000. He has received many awards for his work, among others including: The International Commissioning Grant, The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, New York, 2005; The International Award of The Islamic World Arts Initiative, Arts International, New York, 2004; The American Center Foundation Grant, Philadelphia, 2004; Honorary Award, Rita Longa International Symposium, Bayamo, Cuba, 2001. In 1996 won the Grand Nile Prize for 6th Cairo Biennial and in 2009 won the Grand Prize for 25th Alexandria Biennale. Shawky has participated in many workshops and projects such as in Egypt, Lebanon, Italy, Greece, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Poland, Belgium, Germany, UK, Turkey, Thailand, Cuba and the USA, and most recently took part in a residency programs in Gyeonggi, Korea, korea, 2009. Santa Fe, NM, 2008. Codra, Thessalonica, 2006 and in Istanbul 2005 (based at Platform Garanti of Contemporary Art). His solo exhibitions include: Clean History, 2009 and Al Aqsa Park, 2008 both at The Townhouse Gallery, Cairo. Larvae Channel 2, Project Gentili, Berlin, 2009. Telematch Sadat, Telematch Market, Al Aqsa Park, at KVS, Brussels, 2007. The Forty Days Road, Wet Culture – Dry Culture, Galeria Sztuki Wspolczesnej, Krakow, 2007. The Green Land Circus, The Townhouse Gallery, Cairo, 2005. Loosing identity, Ludwigsburg Kunstverein, Ludwigsburg, Germany, 2005. Sidi El Asphalt’s Moulid 2001 and Asphalt Quarter (representation) 2003 at The Townhouse Gallery of Contemporary Art, Cairo. He participated in many group exhibitions, among others: Translation, Queens Museum of Art, New York City, 2009. Rites of Passage, Schunck-Glaspaleis, Heerlen, 2009. 7th Santa Fe biennale, Santa Fe, NM, 2008. SCENES DU SUD II, Musée d’art contemporain de Nîmes, 2008, medium religion, ZKM, Karlsruhe, 2008. 5th meeting points, 2007. 2nd Riwaq Biennale, Palestine, 2007. 2nd Moscow biennale, 2007, Fremd bin ich eingezoge, Kunsthalle Fridericianum, Kassel. Choosing my religion, Kunstmuseum Thun, Switzerland, 2006. October Art Salon Belgrade, Serbia, 2006. Stile der stadt, Grosse Bergstrasse, Altona, Hamburg, Germany, 2006. Istanbul Biennial, Istanbul, 2005. ADAM, Smart Project Space, Amsterdam, 2005. Urban Realities, Focus Istanbul, Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin, 2005. Normalization, Platform Granti of Contemporary Art, Istanbul, 2005. Mediterraneans, The Museum of Modern Art Rome (MACRO), Rome, 2004. The 50th Venice Biennial, Venice, 2003.
