Two popular art spaces in downtown Cairo, Townhouse Gallery and Rawabet Theatre, have been shut down in what Mada Masr has described as an ‘inter-agency raid’ by the Censorship Authority, the Tax Authority, the National Security Agency, and a local office of the Ministry of Manpower. According to Mada Masr, Townhouse Gallery and Rawabet Theatre were first visited by a group of plainclothes officials who identified themselves as working for the Censorship Authority. Citing a Townhouse Gallery employee, Mada Masr reports that the plainclothes officials searched the gallery and its offices, including personal laptops, licenses, paperwork and even artwork. Shortly after the arrival of the Censorship Authority officials, a number of other personnel from other government bodies arrived at the downtown Cairo location. The independent English newspaper reports that a personal computer, an office computer, exhibition and archival material documents, CDs and USB flash drives were all confiscated in the raid. It remains unclear whether Townhouse Gallery and Rawabet Theatre have been shut down permanently or temporarily. Townhouse Gallery is a non-profit art space that was established in 1998 and has initiated a number of activities in its various spaces,…
