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Survival of the Artists: How Coronavirus is Affecting Egypt’s Arts and Culture Sector

March 16, 2020
The Cairo Opera House. Image credit unknown.

As opposed to the majority of the world’s population, ‘cancelled’ is the ‘c’ word that most artists fear to hear these days. With the new COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic on the rise across the globe, more and more governments have called for the closure of various venues and cancellation of events that would involve large group gatherings. Earlier this week, this has also been implemented in Egypt.  It started slowly at first, with only a few venues cancelling some events here and there, but, surely enough, the cancellations spread across the arts and culture sector almost as readily as the COVID-19 pandemic itself. Although these measures are necessary, it has undoubtedly caused an added layer of fear and uncertainty for those who make a living out of sharing their art with people.  For artists, especially those in the performing arts (actors, dancers, singers), their livelihoods largely depend on large group gatherings – from exhibitions and public performances of all sorts to concerts – and these cancellations therefore come with a heavy financial impact on such artists. Major Venues and Festivals: Cancelled Earlier in March, the Egyptian Ministry of Culture decided to suspend…


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