Cluster

للغة العربية انظر اول تعليق
CLUSTER is pleased to announce the conclusion of the pilot translation workshop of the first issue of Al Emara magazine.
Founded in 1939 by architect Sayed Karim, Majallat al Emara was a pioneering Egyptian architectural publication that played a central role in promoting modernism across the Middle East, while engaging political and social transformations in the middle of the twentieth century, including housing, urban expansion, and rural development as well as questions of visual and cultural identities.
This three-day pilot workshop forms part of a larger ongoing project dedicated to the translation of the full publication, alongside research into the historical context and architectural discourse shaping mid-20th-century Egypt, and reflections on contemporary architectural practice and urban policies. The workshop served as a testing ground for translation methodologies and the development of a collaborative framework for future phases.
Organized in collaboration with Leibniz University Hannover, AUC Rare Books and Special Collections Library, and Cairo University, the workshop brought together researchers, professionals and students over three days of collective inquiry. Discussions traced thematic shifts and emerging editorial structures within the translated material, while examining the magazine’s visual language—including architectural projects, advertisements, and photography—in relation to contemporaneous local and international publications.
The program also included a visit to the Villa of Sayed Karim in Maadi, preserved by the Karim family in its original condition.
CLUSTER extends its thanks to all partners and participants who contributed to making this workshop possible.

CLUSTER hosted on February 12th, 2026, its 28th session of the CLUSTER Talks series titled: “Making Away from Home: Work, Curiosity, and Craft in a New Country” by Artist and Content Maker Asem Kamal. This talk reflected on the experience of working and making in a country that is not one’s own. During Asem’s residency in Philadelphia, he navigated unfamiliar systems, spaces, and rhythms—learning how place reshapes process. Making by hand became a way to slow down, observe, and connect, both with materials and with people. Through a series of built objects and daily workshop encounters, he began to understand how curiosity, labor, and storytelling shift when one is outside one’s cultural and geographic comfort zone. The talk explored adaptation, creative humility, and how making can become a tool for listening, learning, and finding footing in a new environment.
Asem Kamal is a DIY maker and content creator who brings ideas to life with his hands. He shares his passion for making through engaging videos on his YouTube channel, where he has amassed over 27 million views and 3 million followers across all platforms. Asem produces high-quality content about crafting, from recycling and gardening to home furniture, inspiring others to unleash their inner maker!

The workshop is organised by Art Station, Dona Kulmatova, Anastasia Galimova (Uzbekistan), Omar Nagati (CLUSTER, Egypt), Elisa Wynne-Hughes, Cardiff University (UK).
The workshop is supported by the British Council and hosted by Silk Road University in Samarkand.
• For more details about the workshop and participation requirements, see the link:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/ 112QtDZwGklUY5sywi6ykiyQBDmeOnNFh/view?
usp=drive_link

يقوم بتنظيم هذه الورشة كلًا من آرت ستيشن، دونا كولماتوفا، أناستاسيا جاليموفا (أوزبكستان)، عمر نجاتي (كلستر، مصر)، إليسا وين-هيوز، جامعة كارديف (المملكة المتحدة).

تُقام الورشة بدعم من المجلس الثقافي البريطاني، وتستضيفها جامعة طريق الحرير في سمرقند.

• لمزيد من التفاصيل حول الورشة ومتطلبات المشاركة، يُرجى الضغط على الرابط التالي:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/ 112QtDZwGklUY5sywi6ykiyQBDmeOnNFh/view?
usp=drive_link