Episodes
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A special edition of Culturvator Conversations podcast takes place at “Forever is Now”, the iconic annual exhibition set at the foot of the pyramids that combines inspirational contemporary art with Egypt’s cultural heritage. In this episode, we explore the minds of two amazing visual artists: Egypt's Hassan Ragab and Saudi Arabia's Daniah Saleh.
Tune in as Hassan and Daniah discuss the inspirations behind their pieces, set against the breathtaking background of the Pyramids, how a shared love of old films inspired their imaginations, and how the Pyramids themselves became influences in their artistic journey. #CulturvatorConversations #ForeverIsNow #HassanRagab #DaniahSaleh #ArtMeetsHistory #Pyramids -
Meet Nadine Abdel Ghaffar, the founder of Art D'Egypte and Culturvator. She shares her unique cosmopolitan background and the inspirations behind her innovative approach to art exhibitions. Reflecting on her fond memories of her French grandmother’s home in West El Balad, Nadine reveals how this vibrant area of Downtown Cairo sparked her passion for utilizing Egypt’s most captivating historical sites, like the Pyramids and the Grand Egyptian Museum in Tahrir as unique venues for contemporary art exhibitions.
Nadine explores the challenges she faced in bringing this groundbreaking concept to life, from skepticism among peers to resistance from authorities who doubted the idea of merging art with Egypt's rich history.
Join us as she recounts her journey, illuminating the intersection of art and heritage and showcasing the resilience required to transform a dream into reality. -
Episodes manquant?
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Meet Nadine Abdel Ghaffar, the founder of Art D'Egypte and Culturvator. She shares her unique cosmopolitan background and the inspirations behind her innovative approach to art exhibitions. Reflecting on her fond memories of her French grandmother’s home in West El Balad, Nadine reveals how this vibrant area of Downtown Cairo sparked her passion for utilizing Egypt’s most captivating historical sites, like the Pyramids and the Grand Egyptian Museum in Tahrir as unique venues for contemporary art exhibitions.
Nadine explores the challenges she faced in bringing this groundbreaking concept to life, from skepticism among peers to resistance from authorities who doubted the idea of merging art with Egypt's rich history.
Join us as she recounts her journey, illuminating the intersection of art and heritage and showcasing the resilience required to transform a dream into reality. -
Maha Abouelenein is a strategic communications expert and entrepreneur with over 30 years of experience. She is the CEO and Founder of Digital and Savvy, a global communications consulting firm with offices in the U.S. and UAE. Maha has guided communication transformations for global corporations, startups, governments, and high-profile individuals. Known for her ability to blend creative, strategic, and analytical skills, she emphasizes relationship-building and cultural relevance in storytelling.
Raised in the U.S. to Egyptian parents, Maha bridges Western and Arab cultures, helping companies navigate the Middle Eastern market. She has worked with major tech firms like Google, Netflix, and Uber (Careem), and helped establish Weber Shandwick's presence in the Middle East. Her career also includes supporting major sports marketing programs and high-profile business deals, such as Egypt's largest IPO.
Maha is a sought-after speaker on personal branding and storytelling, recognized among the most influential women in Dubai and the Middle East, as well as a PR industry leader in the U.S. She hosts the "Savvy Talk" podcast, where she discusses modern communications with industry leaders. Based in Minnesota, she enjoys tennis and lives with her dog Coco.
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Mrs. Giovanna Cicutto with over 35 years of experience in the art field, she is renowned for her talent recognition and expertise in public relations and project management. She has been pivotal in events like the Art Biennale of Venice and has curated exhibitions for renowned artists such as Lorenzo Quinn and worked with Geuer-Geuer Gallery and Halcyon Gallery
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A celebrated leader in fashion and the daughter of Missoni brand co-founders Ottavio and Rosita Missoni; Mrs.Angela Missoni and since she became a Creative Director in 1997, she has transformed Missoni into a globally acclaimed brand known for its innovative designs. Now serving as President, Angela continues to drive Missoni's success and influence.
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Markus Jocher is a senior sales leader and international luxury brand development specialist with over 17 years of experience. He excels in high-end hospitality, homeware, and corporate environments, showcasing expertise in business development, network management, and sales team coaching. Markus brings a global mindset and a multicultural approach to people management, having collaborated with both family-owned and multinational organizations to implement business plans, execute strategic projects, and enhance P&L performance.
Based in Munich, Germany, Markus is the owner of Roseneath Company, a role he has passionately embraced for over 20 years. Additionally, he owns a Christofle boutique in Germany, further enriching his involvement in the luxury tableware industry
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Nuria Sanz Gallego, archaeologist and anthropologist, is an international civil servant at the United Nations. She holds a PhD in Prehistory from the Complutense University of Madrid (Spain) and a PhD in Human Ecology from the University of Tübingen (Germany). She has developed her professional career as an expert in natural and cultural heritage management in multilateral institutions such as the Council of Europe, European Union, UNESCO and FAO since 1995. She is editor and author of specialized publications on public international law for the preservation of biological and cultural heritage, on traditional and indigenous knowledge and author and editor of more than 40 publications on World Heritage, especially on issues related to human evolution and cultural diversity. In 2009 she was appointed UNESCO's Global Coordinator for Rock Art Heritage. Throughout her professional career she has directed the Latin America and Caribbean Unit of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, from where she has coordinated the largest nomination project for the UNESCO List: Qhapaq Ñan, The Andean Road System, a process in which the largest network of anthropological knowledge in the Andes was established in the framework of the World Heritage Convention. She was appointed Director and Representative of UNESCO in Mexico in 2013, from where she directed among others the scientific programme on the Origin of Food Production and Sustainable Development. In Mexico she has implemented more than 30 projects on indigenous knowledge, on bio-cultural heritage of peasant communities, on crafts and on linguistic diversity.
She has coordinated the UNESCO thematic programme on Sciences and Human Evolution HEADS (Human Evolution: Dispersals, Adaptations and Social Developments) establishing a multidisciplinary network active to date of 250 world scientists in paleoanthropology, genetics, human ecology, archaeology, zoology, palynology, geomorphology and linguistics. She is the editor of 7 volumes of UNESCO on Human Evolution.
She has been appointed as chief curator of the UNESCO Art Collection, developed its action plan and published two catalogues of the collection and a monograph on African art.
Invited by FAO, she is currently developing the UNESCO-FAO Action Plan as Senior Advisor in the FAO Department of Biodiversity and Climate Change in Rome. She is now working on the evolutionary history of food since prehistoric times, the importance of traditional knowledge in the production and consumption of food and its contribution to the consequences of climate change.
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Over the past 3 years, Art D’Egypte’s innovative art guides program has been integral to the success of the annual Forever is Now exhibition at the Giza Pyramids.
Trained art enthusiasts have provided engaging tours that connect visitors to the exhibition’s contemporary artworks and the ancient site.
As the Forever is Now exhibition continues to grow, these dedicated guides remain a crucial asset, enriching cultural dialogue and empowering local communities. -
A true luminary in the world of luxury jewelry and gemology. Mehdi's journey began in childhood, guided by a mother who infused love and artistry into jewelry design, and a father who imparted technical gemological expertise.
With a Master of Science in Luxury and Design and the esteemed HRD Antwerp Certified Diamond Grader diploma, they have crafted a career that blends passion and precision. Their roles at Chanel, Buccellati, and now Tiffany & Co., have solidified their expertise in diamond evaluation, training, and sales excellence.
His whose lifelong dedication to the artistry and science of jewelry promises to enlighten and inspire us all
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Fares Akkad is the new Regional Director of the Middle East and North Africa [MENA] region at Meta. In this role, Fares designs and leads the commercial growth of the company and its portfolio of apps, services and businesses across MENA. Fares was most recently the Director of Media Partnerships for News in Growth Markets at Meta, supporting journalists and publishers in embedding a sustainable business model in the digital age.
Prior to Meta, Fares led digital business development and distribution for MBC Group, joining the group after over a decade in management consulting in both the region and the United States [US]. Entrepreneurship remains a passion for Fares, having started, funded and exited several startups in MENA and the US – he remains an active advisor and investor in the startup scene.
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Christie's has been founded in 1766, Christie’s is a world-leading art and luxury business. Renowned and trusted for its expert live and online auctions, as well as its bespoke private sales, Christie’s offers a full portfolio of global services to its clients, including art appraisal, art financing, international real estate and education. Christie’s has a physical presence in 46 countries, throughout the Americas, Europe, Middle East, and Asia Pacific, with flagship international sales hubs in New York, London, Hong Kong, Paris and Geneva. It also is the only international auction house authorized to hold sales in mainland China (Shanghai).
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Vilma has dedicated her career to developing creative industries across New York, Chicago, London and Dubai. She joined Alserkal in 2012 and, in her time with the organisation, she has been instrumental in its evolution and responsible for overseeing Alserkal Avenue’s physical expansion of US$20 million in 2015. Vilma has also been the driving force behind Alserkal’s non-profit activities in the arts, which were formalised under Alserkal Arts Foundation in 2019, affirming the organisation’s commitment to artistic production, scholarship and research.
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Zeinab Alhashemi is an Emirati conceptual artist based in Dubai. Since graduating from Zayed University with a BA in arts and science specialising in multimedia design, she has become known for her large-scale contemporary site-specific installations. Alhashemi is fascinated with capturing the transformation of the UAE and examines the contrast and interdependence between the abstract, geometric shapes of urbanism and the organic forms associated with her country’s natural landscape. Since the days of Alhashemi’s childhood, the familiarity of traditional scenery and nature has largely been disturbed to facilitate the rise of the man-made. In her experimental installations, she searches for a new identity appropriate to the modern condition and deconstructs the viewers’ understanding of their surroundings, introducing an alternative point of view, and creating a new perception of that reality. Drawing inspiration from the natural topography of the UAE, Alhashemi experiments with a variety of materials to position the viewer over the intangible boundary between the natural and the artificial. While colour and texture make her work reminiscent of the traditional landscape, such familiarity is disturbed by the striking contrast of industrial materials that remind the viewer of human interference. Alhashemi’s work captures the essence of her homeland today, striking a delicate balance between modernism and tradition in an unexpectedly harmonious coexistence. She has participated in numerous art fairs and festivals such as Sikka Art Fair, Dubai Design Week, and Sharjah Biennial 11 and was recently commissioned by the Institute de France and the Department of Culture and Tourism (DCT) Abu Dhabi to showcase her work at the inauguration of the Louvre Abu Dhabi. Currently she is one of the artists in residence for SETI-Institute in San Francisco, and her work was featured in EXPO2020 Dubai at the Sustainable Pavilion. She also participated in Desert X in AlUla, KSA in 2022.
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Ahmed Karaly graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts in 1994 and participated in the annual Youth Salon exhibition organised by the Ministry
of Culture where he received numerous awards. His first solo exhibition took place at the Mashrabia Gallery of Contemporary Art in 2002. He subsequently participated in the Aswan International Sculpture Symposium (AISS), the first of many international symposia for stone sculpture around the world.In 2005, he received the State Award for creativity and travelled to Italy, where he presented his project al-Masrkhankiyeh, a reconstruction of Islamic architecture in sculptural form, creating a vision for an entire city starting with its gates. The project was presented at the Egyptian Academy of Fine Arts in Rome in 2006 and at the Gezira Centre for the Arts in Cairo in 2008. Karaly is currently working on completing this sculptural city.
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