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MODEL CITIZENS, TIMELINE
In order to grip the actual history of the neighborhood we constructed a timeline with research including: Scholarly books, published articles /websites, information found in archives and personal interviews. We categorised the information based on these four different sources and used a colorcode: Green for the academic books, yellow for the published articles/ websites, blue for organisations and archives and red for all personal interviews. The timeline presented the history of the Marouf district (Antikhana is part of it) and a proposal for future planning that would have a major impact on the neighborhood.
At the late 18th century the Marouf district was an untouched area where the Nile floods used to leave lakes behind. As the Nile’s banks shifted, the land no longer flooded and was used for agriculture. A farming community grew within the area. In 1863 Ismail Pasha began his rule in Egypt. He appointed Ali Pasha Mubarak as Minister of Public Works. As Minister, Ali Pasha Mubarak “drew a master plan for the entire city in accordance with the style of Paris” Khedieve Ismail’s plan was supposed to be implemented over a period of 5 years. Marouf falls at the outskirts of Khedevian Cairo but isn’t built in the same way or pattern. The Marouf area had an organic structure; small tight roads and pathways. New main roads were built amidst it and that can be considered as the main changes that were realized in the Marouf District at that time. Khedieve offered the royal lands without charge to those princes and wealthy merchants agreeing to build substantial villas surrounded by gardens. It is said that there were 11 villas in the Marouf district. Said Halim Pasha commisioned the architect Antonio Lasciac to build the Said Halim Pasha Palace, which he finished in 1897.
It was the strong Italian tradition of architecture that inspired Prince Halim’s Cairene palace, which was constructed almost exclusively from Italian-imported materials and decorations. The prince didn’t use the palace for very long. It is said that his wife, Princess Amina Indji Toussoun found the area too noisy and refused to live in the sumptuous residence that was built for her. Said Halim Pasha had an official seat in the Ottoman government. One can say Halim's standing in British-controlled Egypt was doomed on 2 August 1914, when Turkey signed a secret alliance with Germany committing itself against the United Kingdom.The Said Halim Palace was confiscated under British rule, along with all of the Said Halim’s belongings. The palace was sold to Monsieur Carlsioni, who rented it to the Ministry of National Education and transformed it into the Al Nasra School. In 1929 Monsieur Carlsioni sold the palace to Societe Chaul De Madiano, a partnering company that ran the Al Nasseryia School. This was first a school for the elite, but in the sixties it became a public school. 5 years ago the school moved to the Champollion Street and the Pink Palace was left abandoned. Two months before it got listed as a monument, Rashad Othman bought the Palace. He’s the director of the El Fath Company.
MODEL CITIZENS, PROCESS
For more information about the working process check: http://wouterelke.nl/cairo
For more information from external links check:
Article in Metropolis magazine
Article in Egypt Daily News
Webarticle on urban neighborhood website
Video presentation at Transartists symposium
Webarticle on Citysharing website
For a bibliography of the research, click here
The central element of this project is a 1:35 scale model of the neighborhood, including the gallery premises, an abandoned pink marble palace, a garage, a residential building, two coffee shops, and a villa. The maquette was built during an eight-month residency at Townhouse Gallery, with the assistance of a dedicated team of artists. We also interviewed thirty people who live or work in Antikhana, gathering their stories and perspectives to capture the area's collective memory.
Although the model was on view in the exhibition, it was not a static representation of reality. During the course of the show, we again interviewed members of the community—this time, not about their ideas of the neighborhood's past but about their hopes for its future. The miniature landscape served as a tool; it stimulated them to reflect on their daily surroundings and it made them consider what they would like to change. The project team reworked the model to visualize their proposals. The proposals of the participants balanced from personal wishes to more utopian ideals. For example, One man asked for a private apartment on the fourth floor of the residential building, while another asked for two floors on top of the factory space, so this entire building could contain all activities of the Townhouse and all the apartments in the (old) Townhouse building should then be transformed into social housing offered to homeless people. We visualized all these different, often contradicting, ideas next to each other. Our aim was not to search for a new and realistic future model of Antikhana, but to gather information about all different and common wishes / needs that exist in this one particular street.
The exhibition comprised four spaces. One housed the evolving miniature model; another was an open studio, where we designed and build the extensions and renovations imagined by residents. The other two rooms glance backward: The gallery entrance presented archival materials that relate to the neighborhood in a timeline, while the last room holds an audio piece constructed out of the first interviews—official history stood alongside personal histories, the "record" next to rumor and anecdote.
Following the close of the exhibition, we will produce a publication on the entirety of the project, including documentation of the model's construction, interview transcripts, and archival information. We want to present this book to the participants as well as other community residents. We hope we can organize a community meeting in order to discuss the different proposals. The book will also be shared with architects, urban planners, and politicians. Our hope is that they, too, will take a closer look at this vital community and consider the insights of its residents and workers when mapping the future of Antikhana.