[artinfo] Cairo: A Project for Public Buses

[e-Flux]

Going Places:
A Project for Public Buses

For further information see <http://www.cairobus.com>http://www.cairobus.com
contact: info at cairobus.com

Going Places: A Project for Public Buses is 
happening on Cairo’s cross-town buses from 
October 2003 to March 2004. Four Cairo-based 
artists, Iman Issa (1979), Hassan Khan (1975), 
Maha Maamoun (1972) and Basim Magdy (1977) were 
commissioned to create two-dimensional works to 
be placed on the advertising boards of public 
buses. The project is supplemented by an 
advertising campaign for which the artists 
themselves expanded their projects and produced 
related images that were placed on postcards 
distributed at venues throughout the city.
/.../
This project is an entry point; an attempt to 
infiltrate Cairo’s public space – a space 
monopolized by the combined institutional grip of 
both corporate and governmental powers. This 
infiltration was made possible by appropriating 
the tools of these authorities highlighting the 
irony that is a pertinent facet of urban life in 
this city: Access to the public realm can only be 
realized through privatization.

Going Places is an independent project curated by Mai Abu ElDahab.

The project is made possible with the support of 
the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Cairo, Arabica 
Café, e-flux, Cairo Times and 
<http://www.egyptiankleem.com>http://www.egyptiankleem.com