A pleasant surprise awaits all the art fans in Egypt as the Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival returns to Down Town Cairo with its 9th edition on the 1st of October.

D-CAF is an international multi-disciplinary contemporary arts festival that showcases works in multiple fields such as music, theatre, dance, visual arts, literature, and film, featuring talented artists from Egypt, the Arab region, and the world. The festival kicks off with its signature, free-to-enter environmental workshop, which aims to help artists and cultural organisations join the fight against climate change.

The events in the festival can be divided into five categories: Performing Arts, Music, Urban Visions, Visual Arts, and Special Events. The festival includes two world premiere dance performances, The One Who Lived in The House Before Me, and Memories of a Lord. Among the most exciting performances this year is Embraces. Performed by Danish artists, Embraces premieres for the first time in the region and is the first to use augmented reality technologies.

One of the best aspects of D-CAF is that it steers away from traditional venues and instead utilises non-traditional sites such as historical buildings, storefronts, alleyways, and rooftops for performances, events, and art installations. This year’s festival will be held at various locations around Cairo, including The GrEEK Campus, Adly building rooftop, and Rawabet Art Space.

The festival is supported by many cultural centres such as the British Council and Institut Français, and embassies including the US embassy and the Embassy of Denmark.

Of the most anticipated shows this year is the X-Ray Fashion show by MANND studio. The Danish studio created a VR documentary showing the life cycle of our beloved fashion items, taking you from the factories in India, showing the struggles exploited workers go through, all the way to the catwalk shows in New York. 

To attend any of the events, visit their website to get you tickets, which range from free to LE 100.

One lovely gesture in this year’s edition is that they added a way for the less fortunate to be able to attend the festival through the donations and support of the festival attendees. You can help to share the art you like with others by paying an extra 80 LE/100 LE via this link.