Street art in Cairo. Glenn Belverio reports from the Egyptian capital.

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Dear Shaded Viewers,

I’m here in Cairo checking things out and this morning I went out in search of street art in Zamalek, an island in the middle of the Nile where my hotel, the Sofitel El Gezirah, is located. Of course this is a very politically volatile time in Egypt. I am staying not too far from Tahrir Square. Yesterday there were protests and attacks against the Presidential Palace, which is far from here, but I couldn’t tell if anything was happening in Tahrir last night. I’m sensing something is happening there now as I walked by the notorious Qasr al-Nil Bridge aka the Lion Bridge and the energy was a bit scary.

Here is some of the street art I found in Zamalek today. Most of it seems organic however I can’t help suspecting that some of it is planted by the CIA (“I heart chaos”? Really?). The fact that a lot of it is in English is just an indication of the middle-class liberal artists behind it as many people here speak English.

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The entrance to the Lion Bridge where many of the battles between police and protestors have taken place. It leads to Tahrir Square. This point is not a good place to hang out as I quickly discovered when a group of teenagers started screaming at me in Arabic.

Peace,

Glenn Belverio

Glenn Belverio

Glenn Belverio is a writer and New Yorker. He has been reporting for ASVOF since 2005 and currently works at The Museum of Modern Art as the Content Manager for MoMA Design Store.