Cairo International Art District event features Emirati artist Noor Al Suwaidi

Emirati artist Noor Al Suwaidi is taking part in the fifth edition of the Cairo International Art District (CIAD), a major event that transforms Downtown Cairo into a sprawling art gallery (Oct. 12 – Nov. 16). Presented by Art D’Égypte by Culturvator at Villa Violette, Floor 6, Shourbagy Building, Downtown Cairo, Al Suwaidi’s installation, In the Sun is for Everyone, the Moon is for You, explores emotion, identity and transformation, using clay as a primary medium. Her recent works have been defined by vivid glazes of jade, fuchsia, maroon, and cobalt blue, which she describes as “emotional frequencies — expressions of love in its many intensities.”

“In working with clay, I return to the essence of matter, earth shaped by time, transformed by fire, and reborn in colour,” says Al Suwaidi. “Where I once embraced the muted tones of nature, I now turn to vivid, emotional hues: pastel jade green, fuchsia pink, deep maroon, and electric cobalt blue.

These colours are not decorative; they are emotional frequencies expressions of love in its many intensities, from tenderness to passion, from serenity to boldness.” She added that “in The Sun is for Everyone, the Moon is for You, I explored light as a universal gift. In Is Love a Stigma? exhibition, I questioned why love, unlike conflict, remains censored in public space. This installation unites those ideas through colour - a   deliberate act of declaration. The glazes saturate the clay, yet allow its texture and imperfections to remain visible - a reminder that beauty and truth often coexist beneath the surface.

“Through this transformation, the work mirrors how love itself manifests: radiant, unapologetic, and alive. It resists neutrality, demanding to be seen. Each piece becomes a vessel of emotion — proof that what is most fragile is also what endures.” Al Suwaidi’s participation highlights the growing presence of Emirati women artists in the regional art scene. This year’s CIAD edition features seven individual and collective exhibitions, encompassing a wide range of genres, from contemporary art and digital media to art rugs and a special culinary experience.

A detail from the composition.

The exhibition brings together over 160 artists from across the globe, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Argentina, South Korea, Russia, Germany, Italy, Brazil, the United States, Oman, Portugal, and Austria. Noor Al Suwaidi (b. 1981) is an artist and curator from the UAE. She graduated in 2004 with a BA in Studio Art from the American University in Washington, D.C. and in 2009, obtained a Master’s degree from Kingston University, London, in Curating Contemporary Design. She is a part-time lecturer at the College of Art and Creative Enterprises at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi and as a curator of contemporary art, specialises in the work of Emirati artists. A founding member of the Cultural and Arts Authority in Dubai, she has described how her figurative paintings can reflect Arabic calligraphy. Her artistic practice focuses on work in paint and collage and in 2011, her work, Bare with Me, was sold at Christie’s as part of a wider sale of Arab, Iranian and Turkish contemporary art. It was a first for a female contemporary Emirati artist.

She has taken part in multiple artistic residencies in London, Rome and Berlin. In 2011, she held her first solo exhibition, Like Coral I Create Clouds, in London at the Cork Street Gallery and her artwork has been exhibited in galleries in London, Berlin, Istanbul, Kuwait, and Washington, D.C., as well as across art venues in the UAE. A number of her works are held in the collection of Barjeel Art Foundation, including the paintings Landscape of Colour and Dreamers, as well as the sculptural work, The Head. Her work has also been collected by the Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Foundation and is part of the private collection of Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, among other significant private collections in the region. She is known for her abstract, figurative painting and masterful use of colour.

Held annually, CIAD features numerous venues across historic buildings, showcasing a wide array of works from both Egyptian and international artists. The event is an opportunity to experience contemporary art in a unique urban setting, blending creativity with Downtown Cairo’s rich architectural heritage. Beyond the main exhibition spaces, CIAD encourages exploration of the surrounding streets, which often feature pop-up installations and street art. Founded by French-Egyptian curator Nadine Abdel Ghaffar, Art D’Égypte supports Egypt’s cultural scene through multidisciplinary initiatives that celebrate both heritage and contemporary creativity. Its annual flagship exhibition, Forever Is Now, held at the Pyramids of Giza, is now in its fifth year. Since its inception in 2021, Forever Is Now has transformed the UNESCO World Heritage Site (the Pyramids of Giza) into a stage for cultural dialogue, where the past and present converge, and artists from around the globe respond to one of humanity’s most enduring wonders. “Forever Is Now has always been about dialogue between cultures, between time periods, between tradition and innovation,” says Nadine Abdel Ghaffar, Founder of Art D’Égypte by Culturvator.

Art D’Egypte has also promoted Egyptian art internationally at global art fairs, and operates under UNESCO patronage since 2019. To expand its reach, it launched Culturvator, a platform uniting its projects under one vision: to activate cultural spaces and foster global collaboration across visual arts, design, film, music, and heritage.