View source for Ganzeer

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2016}}
{{Infobox artist
|name = Ganzeer <br />{{lang|arz|جنزير}}
|image = 
|caption = Ganzeer in 2011 
|birth_name = 
|birth_date = 1982<ref name="lambiek.net" />
|birth_place = 
|death_date =
|death_place =
|nationality = Egyptian
|movement = 
|spouse = 
|awards = 
|patrons =
|imagesize =
|field = [[Public art]], [[stenciling]], [[street art]], [[installation art]], [[graphic design]], [[product design]], [[comic books]], creative writing, lecturing
|training = 
|works = 
}}

'''Ganzeer''' ({{langx|arz|جنزير}} &nbsp;{{IPA|arz|ɡænˈziːɾ|pron}}, "chain") (born 1982 in Giza<ref name=":2" />) is the pseudonym used by an Egyptian artist who has gained mainstream fame in Egypt and internationally following the [[2011 Egyptian Revolution]].<ref name="lambiek.net" /> Prior to the revolution, Ganzeer's popularity was widespread yet limited to the spheres of art and design. Ganzeer's artwork has touched on the themes of civic responsibility and social justice and has been critical of the [[Supreme Council of the Armed Forces]], or SCAF, which has ruled Egypt since the February 2011 resignation of former president [[Hosni Mubarak]]. ''Ganzeer'' means "chain" in Arabic. He is a regular contributor to the online magazine ''Rolling Bulb''.<ref>[http://tumblr.rollingbulb.com/ tumblr.rollingbulb.com] {{dead link|date=December 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> Described by [[Bidoun]] Magazine as a "Contingency Artist," Ganzeer is quite accustomed to adopting completely new styles, techniques, and mediums to adapt to the topic he is tackling at any given time. The [[Huffington Post]] has placed him on a list of "25 Street Artists from Around the World Who Are Shaking Up Public Art,"<ref name="Huffington Post">{{cite news |author=Katherine Brooks |title=25 Street Artists from Around the World Who Are Shaking Up Public Art |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/07/famous-street-artists_n_5255832.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000014&ir=World |newspaper=The Huffington Post |date= 7 May 2014 |access-date=8 June 2014}}</ref> while Al-Monitor.com has placed him on a list of "50 People Shaping the Culture of the Middle East."<ref name="Al-Monitort">{{cite news |author=Al-Monitor |title=50 People Shaping the Culture of the Middle East |url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/galleries/50-culture-creators-in-the-middle-east.html |newspaper=Al-Monitor |date=n.d. |access-date=8 June 2014}}</ref> He is one of the protagonists in a critically acclaimed documentary titled Art War by German director Marco Wilms. Ganzeer was also cited by German [[Arte]] as one of Egypt's highest-selling living artists today.

==Politics and Artistic Genre==

Political street art was not common in Egypt prior to the 2011 revolution, however it has proliferated in public spaces in the post-revolution era. Artwork targeting SCAF in particular has surged in popularity since the revolution because, according to [[The Christian Science Monitor]], such "anti-military graffiti is a reflection of Egyptian activists' frustration with the military rulers, who they say replaced one autocracy with another."<ref name="Kristen Chick">{{cite news |author=Kristen Chick |title=Egyptian graffiti artist Ganzeer arrested amid surge in political expression | url = http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2011/0526/Egyptian-graffiti-artist-Ganzeer-arrested-amid-surge-in-political-expression |newspaper=Christian Science Monitor |date= 26 May 2011 |access-date=13 May 2012}}</ref>

Regarding the genre of artistic production in which he participates, Ganzeer has said that "I'm not exactly a graphic designer, nor am I a product designer. I am not particularly a street-artist or comic book artist, nor am I an installation artist, writer, speaker, or video-maker. But I've had the chance to assume one of those roles at different periods of time and in different locations around the world."<ref name="European Culture Congress">{{Cite web|url=http://www.culturecongress.eu/en/people/ganzeer|title=Ganzeer / European Culture Congress|last=huncwot.com|website=www.culturecongress.eu|language=en|access-date=2018-02-28|archive-date=9 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200709130736/http://www.culturecongress.eu/en/people/ganzeer|url-status=dead}}</ref> Indeed, in addition to his better-known street art, Ganzeer has produced artistic content for "magazines, events, projects and musicians."<ref>{{cite news |author=Mashareeb's Team |title=Ganzeer: The Alias of Mohamed Fahmy |url=http://mashareeb.com/ganzeer-the-alias-of-mohamed-fahmy/ |newspaper=Mashareeb |date=29 October 2011 |access-date=13 May 2012 |archive-date=7 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200707165201/http://mashareeb.com/ganzeer-the-alias-of-mohamed-fahmy/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Ganzeer rejects the label of "street artist," having said that "Being called a graffiti artist is something that I'm entirely against. It's not really fair to other real street-artists because I'm not necessarily a street artist, and I don't think in street art terms."<ref name="Heba Elkayal">{{cite news |author=Heba Elkayal |title=Ganzeer: The de facto cultural operator | url =http://www.thedailynewsegypt.com/ganzeer-the-de-facto-cultural-operator.html |newspaper=The Daily News Egypt|date= 27 July 2011 |access-date=13 May 2012}}</ref>

==Artwork==
Ganzeer's street art specifically has been noted for its implicit and explicit criticism of SCAF. For example, immediately after the February revolution, Fahmy created a series of murals depicting "martyrs" who were killed during the revolution, calling these "Martyr Murals".<ref name="European Culture Congress"/> Although street art of various forms was being produced during the revolution, these murals fulfilled a public desire to see the martyrs commemorated publicly and instantly.<ref name="Heba Elkayal"/> The Egyptian government's efforts to remove these murals from public buildings led to the May 2011 "Mad Graffiti Weekend" protest action.<ref name="European Culture Congress"/>

Ganzeer was detained on 26 May 2011,<ref name="lambiek.net" /> after he was reported for distributing stickers depicting the "Mask of Freedom" image that depicts "a mannequin's torso with head sheathed in a gimp mask decorated with two miniature wins". The accompanying caption reads "Salute from the Supreme Council to the youth of the loving nation."<ref name="Heba Elkayal"/>

Ganzeer has participated in many art exhibits around the globe. In 2011, he participated in a Toronto exhibition titled [[Cairo 20x20]]. The exhibition was held at The Mascot Café and Art Gallery and the theme was a look into the capital city of Egypt as portrayed by 20 contemporary Egyptian artists and designers. Each person was given a 20x20 cm canvas and asked to portray what their city meant to them, using any medium. The 20 also included Ibraheem Youssef, Ahmed Hafez, Mahmoud Hamdy, Ahmed Foula and Ibrahim Eslam.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://swaymag.ca/a-e/cairo-20x20-the-mascot-cafe-art-gallery/ |title=Cairo 20×20: The Mascot Café & Art Gallery |publisher=Sway}} {{dead link|date=December 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref>

==Comics==
Ganzeer has also created a few comics, including his debut graphic novel ''The Solar Grid'' (2019).<ref name="lambiek.net">{{cite web |url=https://www.lambiek.net/artists/g/ganzeer.htm |title=Ganzeer - Lambiek Comiclopedia}} </ref>

==Exhibitions==
This Should be Made Public – Goethe Institut, Cairo, Egypt – 2007<br />
Everyday Heroes – Townhouse Onsite, Cairo, Egypt – 2007<br />
The One Minutes – Rawabet Theatre, Cairo, Egypt – 2008<br />
Tashkeel Gallery, Dubai, Cairo, Egypt – 2008<br />
Urban Artists – Tashkeel Gallery, Dubai, UAE – 2008<br />
Art Threesome – Foundation B.A.D, Rotterdam, The Netherland – 2008<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.khtt.net/en/page/6773/art-threesome|title=Art Threesome at the Foundation B.a.d in Rotterdam|date=2008|website=KHTT|access-date=September 11, 2019}}</ref><br />
Cairoscape – Uqbar, Berlin, Germany – 2008<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://cairoscape.org/en_programs.html|title=Cairoscape|website=cairoscape.org|access-date=2019-09-11}}</ref><br />
Radius of Art – Kiel, Germany – 2008<ref>Ganzeer, ''City of Silent Noise.'' Accessed September 11, 2019 on [https://vimeo.com/2186827 Vimeo]</ref><ref>''Radius of Art''. Materialen des Seminars radius (1) forschung feld kunst vom Sommersemester 2008, CAU Kiel. Published 2008. Accessed September 11, 2019 at http://www.radius-of-art.de/down/2008-radius%20reader.pdf</ref><br />
Up Yours – Kran Film, Brussels, Belgium – 2008<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://kranfilm.net/filmarchive/list-of-directors-by-alpabetic-order/|title=list by Directors (Kran Film Collective)|website=kranfilm.net|access-date=2019-09-11}}</ref><br />
Shatana International Workshop – Shatana, Jordan – 2009<br />
Why Not? – Palace of the Arts, Cairo, Egypt – 2010<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=http://www.stamboulis.org/2012/06/17/ganzeer/24285462/|title=Ganzeer|date=2012-06-17|website=Elettra Stamboulis ART CURATOR, WRITER AND TEACHER...|language=it-IT|access-date=2019-09-11}}</ref><br />
Noord – Mediamatic, Amsterdam, the Netherlands – 2010<ref name=":2" /><br />
Cairo Documenta – Hotel Viennoise, Cairo, Egypt – 2010<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cairo360.com/article/arts-culture/viennoise-hotel-cairo-documenta/|title=Viennoise Hotel: Cairo Documenta|date=2010-12-18|website=Cairo 360 Guide to Cairo, Egypt|language=en-US|access-date=2019-09-11}}</ref><ref name=":2" /><br />
Meet Phool launch – Darb1718, Cairo, Egypt – 2011<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cairo360.com/article/arts-culture/meetphool-new-online-platform-for-performing-arts-community-in-egypt/|title=Meetphool: New Online Platform for Performing Arts Community in Egypt|date=2011-07-06|website=Cairo 360 Guide to Cairo, Egypt|language=en-US|access-date=2019-09-11}}</ref><br />
Cairo 20x20 – The Mascot Gallery, Toronto, Canada – 2011<br />
Arabic Graffiti & Egyptian Street Art – Tutankhamun Exhibition, Frankfurt, Germany −2012<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.brooklynstreetart.com/2012/04/04/from-here-to-fame-publishing-present-arabic-graffiti-egyptian-street-art-in-frankfurt-frankfurt-germany/|title=From Here To Fame Publishing Present: Arabic Graffiti & Egyptian Street Art in Frankfurt. (Frankfurt, Germany)|language=en-US|access-date=2019-09-11}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.graffitisouthafrica.com/graffiti-africa-gallery/2012/04/10/arabic-graffiti-egyptian-street-art-in-frankfurt/|title=Arabic Graffiti & Egyptian Street Art in Frankfurt - Graffiti South Africa|website=www.graffitisouthafrica.com|access-date=2019-09-11}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fromheretofame.com/khaled_said.html|title=Arabic Graffiti Blog / From Here To Fame Publishing|website=www.fromheretofame.com|access-date=2019-09-11}}</ref><br />
Katowice Street-Art Festival – Katowice, Poland – 2012<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/katowice-street-art-festival_n_1522100|title=Polish Town Gets a New Face After Street Art Festival|last=Brooks|first=Katherine|date=2012-05-17|website=HuffPost|language=en|access-date=2019-09-11}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://blog.vandalog.com/2012/05/22/katowice-street-art-festival-part-2/|title=Katowice Street Art Festival – part 2 – Vandalog – A Street Art Blog|language=en-US|access-date=2019-09-11}}</ref><br />
Expressoes da Revolucaode – Contra Cultura, Porto Alegre, Brazil – 2012<br />
Newtopia: The State of Human Rights – Museum Hof Van Busleyden, Mechelen, Belgium −2012<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.flanderstoday.eu/arts/only-human|title=Only human {{!}} Flanders Today|website=www.flanderstoday.eu|access-date=2019-09-11}}</ref><br />
Theatrefestival Basel – Kaserne Basel, Basel, Switzerland – 2012<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://www.theaterfestival.ch/dropbox/tfb_proheft_es_web.pdf|title=Theaterfestival Basel 2012 program|pages=13|access-date=11 September 2019|archive-date=7 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807165801/http://www.theaterfestival.ch/dropbox/tfb_proheft_es_web.pdf/|url-status=dead}}</ref><br />
Ruptures: Forms of Public Address – The Cooper Union School of Art, NYC, USA – 2012<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cooper.edu/events-and-exhibitions/exhibitions/ruptures|title=RUPTURES: Forms of Public Address {{!}} The Cooper Union|website=cooper.edu|access-date=2019-09-11}}</ref><br />
The Virus is Spreading – Safarkhan Art Gallery, Cairo, Egypt – 2012<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://biennale5.thessalonikibiennale.gr/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/catalogue-biennale5.pdf|title=Catalog Thessaloniki biennale of contemporary art 5|publisher=State Museum of Contemporary Art|year=2015|pages=251}}</ref><br />
Left-to-Right – Kunstquartier Bethanien, Berlin, Germany – 2012<ref name=":0" /><br />
What Are You Doing Drawing? – Nile Sunset Annex, Cairo, Egypt – 2013<ref name=":0" /><br />
Open Sesame – Apexart, NYC, USA – 2013<ref name=":0" /><br />
Face the Vitrine—D-CAF – Cairo, Egypt – 2013<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ww.egyptindependent.com/d-caf-picks-week-1/|title=D-CAF picks of the week|date=2013-04-18|website=Egypt Independent|language=en-US|access-date=2019-09-11}}</ref><br />
(K)harya "Freedom or Shit" – Hotel Viennoise, Cairo, Egypt – 2013<ref name=":0" /><br />
Back to Square 1 – Forumbox, Helsinki, Finland – 2013<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.checkpointhelsinki.org/en/works/back-to-the-square-1|title=Checkpoint Helsinki - Works - Back to (The) Square 1|website=www.checkpointhelsinki.org|language=en|access-date=2019-09-11}}</ref><ref name=":0" /><br />
Alwan Festival – Al Riwaq Art Space, Adilya, Bahrain – 2014<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://artradarjournal.com/2017/09/01/art-on-the-wall-from-north-africa-with-spray-cans-a-pencil-and-a-camera/|title=Art on the Wall: from North Africa… with spray cans, a pencil and a camera {{!}} Art Radar|last=Radar|first=Art|language=en-GB|access-date=2019-09-11|archive-date=23 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200623132910/https://artradarjournal.com/2017/09/01/art-on-the-wall-from-north-africa-with-spray-cans-a-pencil-and-a-camera/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=":0" />

Urban Art Biennial—Völklingen—2015<ref name=":1" />

All American By Ganzeer—Leila Heller Gallery, New York—2015<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.leilahellergallery.com/exhibitions/all-american-by-ganzeer-curated-by-shiva-balaghi|title=Gallery II - All American by Ganzeer, Curated by Shiva Balaghi - Exhibitions - Leila Heller Gallery|website=www.leilahellergallery.com|access-date=2019-09-11}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/av4mj8/the-revolutionary-no-bullshit-art-of-ganzeer|title=The Revolutionary, No-Bullshit Art of Ganzeer|last=Crabapple|first=Molly|date=January 30, 2015|website=Vice|access-date=September 11, 2019}}</ref>

==Publications==
{{BLP unsourced section|date=March 2019}}
Arabesque – by Ben Wittner, Sascha Thoma, Nicholas Bourquin – Gestalten, Berlin, Germany – 2008<br />
Ruins of the Future – by George Azmy and Ganzeer – Contemporary Image Collective, Cairo, Egypt – 2008<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://arablit.org/2011/03/24/the-time-to-publish-your-arabic-graphic-novel-is-now/|title=The Time to Publish (Your) Arabic Graphic Novel is…Now|date=2011-03-24|work=ArabLit|access-date=2019-09-12|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JnOhCAAAQBAJ&q=Ruins+of+the+Future+%E2%80%93+by+George+Azmy+and+Ganzeer&pg=PT285|title=Postcolonial Comics: Texts, Events, Identities|last1=Mehta|first1=Binita|last2=Mukherji|first2=Pia|date=2015-04-24|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781317814092|language=en}}</ref><br />
From the End – by Ganzeer – Self-Published, Cairo, Egypt – 2009<br />
Arabesque 2 – by Ben Wittner and Sascha Thoma – Gestalten, Berlin, Germany – 2011<br />
Wall Talk: Graffiti of the Egyptian Revolution – by Sherif Boraie – Zeitouna, Cairo, Egypt – 2012<br />
Revolution Graffiti – by Mia Grondahl – AUC Press, Cairo, Egypt – 2013<br />
Newtopia: The State of Human Rights – by Katerina Gregos and Elena Sorokina – Ludion, Antwerp, Belgium<br />
The Apartment in Bab El Louk – by Donia Maher, Ganzeer, and Ahmad Nady – Merit Publishing, Cairo, Egypt – 2014<ref name="Arabic Literature (in English)">{{cite news |author=M. Lynx Qualey |title=Ganzeer on the Visual Language of 'The Apartment in Bab El-louk' | url =http://arablit.wordpress.com/2014/02/03/ganzeer-on-the-visual-language-of-the-apartment-in-bab-el-louk/|date= 3 February 2014 |access-date=8 June 2014}}</ref><br />
Walls of Freedom – by Don Stone and Basma Hamdy – From Here to Fame Publishing, Berlin, Germany – 2014

==Presentations, lectures and debates==
{{BLP unsourced section|date=March 2019}}
Ganzeer has given a number of public lectures around the world on art and design. These presentations are often described by participants as semi-performative, high on humor, very informative and ultimately engaging.

Art-Threesome – Foundation B.a.d, Rotterdam, Netherlands – 2008<br />
Pecha Kucha Night – Off Corso, Rotterdam, Netherlands – 2008<br />
Going Dutch, Habibi – Contemporary Image Collective, Cairo, Egypt – 2008<br />
Medrar's 14th Open Meeting –  Medrar, Cairo, Egypt – 2009<br />
Visual Pollution in the Middle East – Nuqat Conference, Kuwait – 2010<br />
TweetNadwa – Tahrir Square, Cairo, Egypt – 2011<br />
Cairo Institute for Human Rights, Seminar No. 18 – Cairo, Egypt – 2011<br />
Culture in Action: A debate between Ganzeer, [[Guy Sorman]], and [[Rachida Triki]] – European Culture Congress, Wrocław, Poland – 2011<br />
Internews Conferences – Portemilio, Lebanon – 2011<br />
Social Media & Street-Art – Sanaye3 House, Beirut, Lebanon – 2011<br />
Forum Liberation de Lyon – Lyon, France – 2011<br />
Horreya Tour – Berlin, Hamburg, Bremen, and Cologne, Germany – 2012<br />
Street-Art and Political Protest Culture – Right-to-Left, Berlin, Germany – 2012<br />
The War of Art / HIAP Talks – Helsinki, Finland – 2013<br />
Re:Public – Kiasma Museum, Helsinki, Finland – 2013<br />
Seminar: We Are Open – Checkpoint Helsinki, Kiasma Museum, Helsinki, Finland – 2013<br />
Art & The Political – D-CAF, AUC, Cairo, Egypt – 2014<br />
Alwan Festival Talks – Al Riwaq Art Space, Adilya, Bahrain – 2014

==See also==
*[[El Teneen]]
*[[Keizer (artist)]]
*[[List of urban artists]]
*[[Chico (Egyptian artist)]]
*[[Contemporary art in Egypt]]

==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==External links==
*[http://www.ganzeer.com/ Ganzeer.com]
*[https://www.lambiek.net/artists/g/ganzeer.htm Lambiek Comiclopedia article.]
*[http://tumblr.rollingbulb.com/ Rolling Bulb] {{Dead link|date=December 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
*[http://www.artterritories.net/?page_id=2570 Interview with Art Territories]

{{Street Art}}
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[[Category:Egyptian graffiti artists]]
[[Category:Egyptian comics artists]]
[[Category:Egyptian graphic designers]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Pseudonymous artists]]
[[Category:Egyptian contemporary artists]]
[[Category:1982 births]]