The artistic side of COP27 through Jusoor Post’s eyes

Finance, loss and damage, and global emissions were at the forefront of the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC (COP27), held November 6-19 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, but the summit also hosted many artists and handcrafters to showcase their works. Jusoor Post explored the world of art at the COP.  

Ibrahim Mohamed, works at the Cultural Development Fund (CDF), told Jusoor Post: 
I work for CDF, affiliated with the Egyptian Ministry of Culture. My art is copper engravings with silver inlay. I create pieces from scratch, and I renovate old ones as well. I am here at COP27 to demonstrate my art. 

Loula Lahham, Akhmim Project Director and Representative of the Association of Upper Egypt for Education and Development (AUEED) at COP 27, talked about AUEED’s activities: 
We are exhibiting our products at the booth of the Egyptian Ministry of Culture in COP27. AUEED manages 35 schools in poor villages in Upper Egypt. We have dozens of centers for education and development all over the governorates in Upper Egypt. We aim at developing skills as well as providing health care for the needy. There are two centers dedicated to handmade products. One of these centers is Akhmim Community Center in Akhmim, a city well known for textiles since the Pharaohs. 

We wanted to make a project for empowering girls and women. We helped them in making embroidery clothes and art inspired by their surrounding environment. We have been launching an annual exhibition to market their products. In this project, we have 150 girls and women, or we may call them “artists”. They use all-natural materials to make their own art. 

Ahmed El Sayed, handcrafter from El Wadi El Gedid governorate, told us: 
We participated in Dyarna booth at COP27 to let people know us, to know our art in our city: handmade carpets. We provide girls with materials and teach them carpet spinning to help them with their income. This comes among the initiatives launched by the Egyptian Ministry of Social Solidarity to economically empower women and girls. 

Adel Mahmoud, handcrafter from El Wadi El Gedid governorate, explained to us how he makes his art:
I do sculpture using palm stems. I reflect my heritage and my surrounding in my artwork. It is like a message to attract tourists to my city. We cut palm stems in a certain time of the year - usually in winter after harvesting dates. Palm stems have many benefits: very light-weight, solid, and environment-friendly.   

Nadine Helmy, Founder of Lnzys Art Furniture, talked about her experience at COP27:
We are 33 local Egyptian initiatives and brands. We are all ecofriendly brands. Everything in our booth is sustainable and recycled. The initiatives include cleaning the Nile, recycling plastic bottles, cleaning the beaches, upcycling clothes from factories’ leftovers, and safe packaging. 

Shereen Badr, CEO and Co-founder of Sheranda World Art Organization, told Jusoor Post:

We launched our first exhibition in the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization. We invited more than 33 countries, and more than 150 artists participated in this event; it was a huge success. The second step was to join COP27, where we invited many galleries, organizations, and initiatives to join us in the second round of our exhibition. In this edition, we present the artwork of established artists, youth, and children.