To Stand with the Dreamers: On Utopia (2017)
To Stand with the Dreamers: On Utopia was a course on Utopia and Utopianism. It was first offered as part of Cairo instuite of Liberal Arts Sciences thematic courses in 2017. The course looked at utopia through literature and theory from the field of Utopian studies. The course also investigated the relationship between imagination and fiction from one side and the sociopolitical from the other. The course started from conceiving Utopia as the education of desire and Utopia as hope and it speaks to the “utopian impulse” in humans for a better life.
Utopia as a vision of the “good life” starts from refusing the present and locating the potentialities and possibilities of better life. The course also moved beyond theory to look at the everyday life utopianism and how utopia can be used as a vehicle for radical transformation.
Because of the special nature of utopia, this course is an interdisciplinary between the arts and the social sciences. It’s meant to be a collective exploration and the reflections of the participants are important to the outcome of the course .The course included readings by Ernst Bloch, Ruth Levitas and Lyman Tower Sargent among others.
Temporary Gathering (2020)
Temporary Gathering was an educational programme on the history and practice of self-organised forms of publishing bringing together a group of cultural workers with backgrounds in graphic design, photography, cultural theory, poetry, dance and visual arts. It consists of group based research and critical discussion of local histories and contemporary practices of self publishing and of making publications by use of affordable means, such as photocopied zines and silkscreen printing. Temporary Gathering is trying to build a context for learning from and through forms of working together collectively and tries to reflect on the role of often dissident, ephemeral and marginal forms of expression in our specific time and place and the related economies and socialities. It took place between Janauary and September 2020.
Automatic Zine
automatic zine is an experiment with forms of collective and participatory art publishing. it uses a simple process to generate printable zines without relying on other methods or software. publications are generated after reaching 8 pages, a standard figure in zines production, and then displayed in a gallery/library space for viewing or printing. the project plays an intermediary role as a virtual publisher and a collaborative space. it is part of ongoing experimentation in publishing and art projects associated with publishing as an artistic practice. inspired by the history and practices of participatory creation in art publishing. the project was conceptualized by me during the digital residency at goethe institute cairo in december 2020. the website was coded and developed by mohamed hawwari.
Temporary Press
Temporary Press is a project that situates itself in the line between the real and the imaginary. It could be described as a para-institution focusing on publishing and publication related practices and activities. It started in 2019 by Ahmed Mongey as part of Roznama Studio program organized by Medrar. The project is intentionally temporary as it’s not preoccupied with survival and profit making instead it works as a para/extra institutional questioning the possible in the realm of publishing and championing independent, alternative forms of publishing.
Ahmed Mongey (b.1990 in Cairo,Egypt) is a cultural worker, artist, researcher and educator. Ahmed coordinated "Temporary Gathering" (2020) an educational program on independent and alternative publishing practices at Contemporary Image Collective. He obtained his master’s degree in Sociology and Social Anthropology from the Central European university (2022). As an active member of the Cairo Institute of Liberal arts and sciences, he has been exploring the concept through 2 seminars "To Stand with the Dreamers" (2017) and "Between Utopias and Dystopias: Towards an Anthropology of Imagination" (2019). Ahmed has been awarded the AFAC creative and critical writings grant (2020).
News and Links
- Instagram profile
- To Stand with the Dreamers (2017)
- Between Utopia and Dystopia (2020)
- أليساندرو لودوفيكو: تصور لتاريخ النشر البديل
- Afterhours residency
- UNIDEE residency
- Automatic Zine on Homeostasis Lab
- Digital residency
- Mada Masr Article on Roznama 8
News and Links
- Instagram profile
- To Stand with the Dreamers (2017)
- Between Utopia and Dystopia (2020)
- أليساندرو لودوفيكو: تصور لتاريخ النشر البديل
- Afterhours residency
- UNIDEE residency
- Automatic Zine on Homeostasis Lab
- Digital residency
- Mada Masr Article on Roznama 8