The Atelier of Alexandria is one of the most vital and active resources for contemporary culture and art in Egypt. The Atelier is active in all of the modern movements in art and culture.

General information

Atelier of Alexandria  is a very dynamic Egyptian NGO originally founded in 1935 as a meeting point for the Alexandrian artistic scene. It moved to its present premises in 1969, and took the name of Atelier of Artists and Writers of the City of Alexandria.

The President of Atelier of Alexandria, Dr. Mohamed Rafik Khalil, is assisted by 8 board members and The in-house operations are managed by Moataz El Safty, who is Curator / Art director, Artistic exchange Programming, Atelier's web designed and contents and External Relations.

Atelier of Alexandria is mostly funded by the subscriptions of its nearly 1000 members. It also rents its premises (halls and working studios), at very affordable prices, for exhibitions and artists in residence.  

Mission / Objectives:

Atelier of Alexandria aims at connecting artists from different horizons, at making it possible for artists from different fields and nationalities to share their experiences. The very dynamic team of this famous venue on the Egyptian artistic scene also strives to make the arts more accessible to the general public. They have organised several events including exhibitions, workshops, seminars, talks. They have been chosen to host part of the Alexandria Biennale of Arts in 2005, which was a great recognition of their cultural role.

Main Projects / Activities:

Since 1969, Atelier of Alexandria has hosted many cultural events, both regional and international, with a wide variety of activities in the fine arts, poetry, music, history lectures as well as seminars.

Atelier of Alexandria is one of the most vital and active resources for contemporary culture and art in Egypt; its members represent the top intellectuals and thinkers. Atelier of Alexandria is active in all of the modern movements in art and culture, giving many workshops and supporting established and emerging talents.

Each year Atelier of Alexandria collaborates or organizes international activities such as international youth salon (2006 /2007 /2008), international workshop (2006 / 2008 ) and residency program. Also Atelier had a collaboration in some workshops and projects as a partner with association out of Egypt. For more information it’s available on the website.

Member / Partner

Atelier of Alexandria  is a member of the board of BJCEM biennale (The International Association of the Biennial of Young Artists from Europe and the Mediterranean) (la Biennale des Jeunes Créateurs d'Europe et de la Méditerranée) and a member of Egyptian network in ALF Anna Lindh Foundation for culture dialogue between Europe – Mediterranean.

Also Atelier is a partner with CeSIE – Italy (Centro Studied Intiziative Europeo), as a partner with ECM – Marseille (espace culture et multimedia).