//Skip to content
Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors

Egypt’s Art Scene Suffers from Lack of Investment

September 10, 2015
Arts-Mart, a new gallery in Cairo that exhibits contemporary Egyptian art. Courtesy of MO4 Network

It is said that a picture is a poem without any words, and one of the ways to study a country’s heritage can be by delving into the history of its art development process. Picasso once said that painting is just another way of keeping a diary. In another form, the art of every country or region can tell a lot about the economic, political and social struggles people witness every day. Nowadays, paintings have become a rare, rewarding field of investment. The prices of art pieces increase daily, and the business of buying one of these paintings is one of hardest businesses to establish as some of these paintings, particularly of painters now deceased, are very few and hard to find. “Investment in paintings and antiques is a very profitable business, it even increases according to the artistic value of the pieces,” said Sherwet Shafei, an antiques collector. “Especially the art pieces of the artists who established the modern art in Egypt, like Mahmoud Said.” Shafei is a former television anchor who had a weekly TV programme specialising in art for 30 years. Since then, she has become a…


Hi guest,

You've read all of your free articles.
Subscribe now to support independent journalism and to enjoy:


Unlimited access to all our articles

Exclusive events and offers

First access to new premium newsletters

Ability to comment on articles

Full user profile