In Conversation with Doris Maninger........please read more here below !
In Conversation with Doris Maninger........ touch to read more
I've met Doris some while ago in Rome and immediately I was driven emotionally to discover the woman behind the extraordinary talented artist, teacher, curator & educator that she is. She in fact, inspires anyone she comes across with. When she starts talking, her moves, her gestures , her kindness, her words just pervade the whole room and you feel deeply grateful for what is next to come. We moved from one project, to discovering mutual friendship and to feeling the urge, to put together an exceptional story for you to read here on Lost in Jewellery Magazine pages. It probably just sums up in how Doris wants to live her life and in what she does for others. Or it is one of her many different 'artistic sides', like I like to call it. She indeed has many different ones to discover, not just one. Please follow our diary with Doris along the year, throught out the pages of this unique online art magazine. We start now a series of different episodes with Doris, which will be published around the year, with a little interview by me and a brief presentation of Doris's work in Egypt. A new written & visual 'Adventure', which starts and takes shape with Doris's students and with this amazing school in Cairo, the 'Design School by Azza Fahmy'.
Follow & Enjoy with us, both the reading and the visual imagery & Share if you wish the various Episodes that will come along during the year, so to Support the artists work !" Laura Helena Aureli
Follow & Enjoy with us, both the reading and the visual imagery & Share if you wish the various Episodes that will come along during the year, so to Support the artists work !" Laura Helena Aureli
Italian version of the interview with artist doris maninger
1. Cercando in Internet, vicino al tuo nome appare spesso la frase little bit of everything but nothing serious. Cosa significa per te questa affermazione?
Doris: Da una parte significa che cerco sempre di non prendermi troppo sul serio in quello che faccio, di guardare le cose con una certa ironia, anche per mitigare la pulsione “drammatica” che mi porto dentro. Un modo di convivere con i miei Demoni, diciamo. Dall’altra che ho fatto tante cose nella vita e davvero trovo difficoltà a fissare me e il mio lavoro in un ambito preciso.
2. Quando dici ambito di lavoro ti riferisci a una sfera “tecnica” o intendi anche altro?
Doris: Intendo tante cose: dai paesi nei quali ho viaggiato, vissuto, lavorato, alle varie discipline e alle modalità stesse di lavoro, dai materiali che utilizzo alle tecniche che mi piace alternare. Per esempio, in questo momento sono consulente di una scuola di gioielleria al Cairo, il DSAF Design studio Azza Fahmy. Ma sono stata restauratrice di affreschi nel Sud Italia, tessitrice, pittrice, scultrice, brand designer. Ho co-fondato una scuola di gioielleria contemporanea (Alchimia, a Firenze) e con il tempo sono diventata educatrice, preferisco usare questa parola piuttosto che quella di insegnante, un lavoro che amo profondamente e per il quale penso di essere davvero ferrata. Mi piace vedere crescere le persone, in tutti i sensi.
3. Ora dunque ti senti un’educatrice e, come si legge nelle tue note biografiche, “progettista di corsi” (course designer) in Egitto: come sei arrivata lì?
Doris: Come sono arrivata è una storia molto lunga, ma in breve direi che ci sono stata portata da circostanze e desideri, come probabilmente succede sempre nella vita. Comunque il Medio Oriente, e l’Egitto in particolare, mi hanno sempre affascinato, potrei dire da quando ragazzina ho letto Le Mille e una notte.
4.Da questa tua affermazione saremmo portati a pensare che non riesci a stare ferma in un posto e che ti piacciono le avventure..
Doris: Sì, questo è sicuramente vero. Premetto che non mi è mai piaciuto fare la turista nel senso di quella che arriva, guarda rapidamente e se ne va. Amo conoscere le persone oltre che i luoghi, immergermi in altre realtà con codici diversi dai miei, più o meno distanti geograficamente. E’ in questo senso che mi piacciono le avventure. Ma sopratutto, in questa fase della mia vita, mi piace far crescere le cose, le verdure e le piante nell’orto come le idee e le imprese. Spero che non sembri un paragone irrispettoso, ma è proprio così. Credo che in questo risiedano le mie capacità migliori. Un compito nuovo da portare a termine in circostanze e con vincoli ben precisi stuzzica più di ogni altra cosa la mia fantasia ed esalta le mie capacità creative ed immaginative. Piantare semi e idee e vederli crescere, per poi farli camminare da soli per il mondo: al di là di ogni retorica, è davvero la mia gioia maggiore.
5.Allora è in questi termini che stai aiutando questa scuola egiziana a crescere?
Doris: Sì, esattamente. Lì ho avuto modo di conoscere (o conoscere meglio) tante persone di grande ispirazione, in particolare donne eccezionali, come per esempio Azza Fahmy, le artiste orafe Marwa El Dekken, Fadwa Najef, Iman Sami, Issra al Rayess, la direttrice Yasmine Hamalawy, tra le tante. Ci sono anche un paio di uomini (!!) come Gustavo Paradiso. Tra i miei incontri ho conosciuto anche Rachel Chiodo, un’ artista orafa con cui sto collaborando per tenere a battesimo una serie di articoli che usciranno sul vostro Magazine.
6. Vuoi raccontare a chi ci legge qual è l’idea che sarà il filo conduttore di questi articoli?
Doris: Intanto ovviamente ruoteranno tutti intorno a questa città millenaria, come luogo reale e immaginale di incontri e scontri, amori e odi, bellezza e sofferenza, convivenza e ingiustizia, e soprattutto comunità, con tante persone con capacità e idee straordinarie.
L’idea portante, il format diciamo, è ispirarsi alle serie televisive “producendo” degli articoli come se fossero piccoli script per una serie televisiva appunto. Con testo - ridotto al minimo - e soprattutto foto che illustrano l’andamento della trama.
Cominceremo con un episodio pilota il prossimo mese, che ruoterà intorno alla mostra di Fadwa Najef, insegnante della Scuola, raccontando il set up della sua mostra ma, da lì, si svilupperà in una trama che toccherà alcuni momenti della sua vita: dalla sua provenienza, orafa autodidatta nella striscia di Gaza, alla decisione presa di venire a studiare in Egitto. Successivamente racconteremo la storia della Scuola e di Azza Fahmy, la sua fondatrice, quella delle persone che sono passate da qui per fare dei workshop, come Naomi Filmer o Nedda el Asmar, di altre che hanno contribuito a costruirla rimanendo a lungo, come Estela Saez, Giulia Savino, Gustavo Paradiso di quelli - artisti, designer, artigiani, amministrativi - che ci circondano e la fanno vivere quotidianamente. E poi naturalmente anche degli studenti che si sono avvicendati in questi anni, delle loro motivazioni e delle loro attese.
7. Usi il “noi”. Chi esattamente intendi con questo noi?
Doris: Con noi intendo Rachel Chiodo e me. Questo lavoro, come ho già detto prima, lo abbiamo pensato insieme, anche se a distanza, usando molto, come tanti, zoom, per l’impossibilità di vederci fisicamente causa Covid.
E devo dire che non solo ci siamo divertite, ma che è stata anche l’occasione per mettere a punto un modo di guardare alle persone e al lavoro che sicuramente rimarrà fra gli strumenti formativi della scuola.
Doris Maninger
Doris: Da una parte significa che cerco sempre di non prendermi troppo sul serio in quello che faccio, di guardare le cose con una certa ironia, anche per mitigare la pulsione “drammatica” che mi porto dentro. Un modo di convivere con i miei Demoni, diciamo. Dall’altra che ho fatto tante cose nella vita e davvero trovo difficoltà a fissare me e il mio lavoro in un ambito preciso.
2. Quando dici ambito di lavoro ti riferisci a una sfera “tecnica” o intendi anche altro?
Doris: Intendo tante cose: dai paesi nei quali ho viaggiato, vissuto, lavorato, alle varie discipline e alle modalità stesse di lavoro, dai materiali che utilizzo alle tecniche che mi piace alternare. Per esempio, in questo momento sono consulente di una scuola di gioielleria al Cairo, il DSAF Design studio Azza Fahmy. Ma sono stata restauratrice di affreschi nel Sud Italia, tessitrice, pittrice, scultrice, brand designer. Ho co-fondato una scuola di gioielleria contemporanea (Alchimia, a Firenze) e con il tempo sono diventata educatrice, preferisco usare questa parola piuttosto che quella di insegnante, un lavoro che amo profondamente e per il quale penso di essere davvero ferrata. Mi piace vedere crescere le persone, in tutti i sensi.
3. Ora dunque ti senti un’educatrice e, come si legge nelle tue note biografiche, “progettista di corsi” (course designer) in Egitto: come sei arrivata lì?
Doris: Come sono arrivata è una storia molto lunga, ma in breve direi che ci sono stata portata da circostanze e desideri, come probabilmente succede sempre nella vita. Comunque il Medio Oriente, e l’Egitto in particolare, mi hanno sempre affascinato, potrei dire da quando ragazzina ho letto Le Mille e una notte.
4.Da questa tua affermazione saremmo portati a pensare che non riesci a stare ferma in un posto e che ti piacciono le avventure..
Doris: Sì, questo è sicuramente vero. Premetto che non mi è mai piaciuto fare la turista nel senso di quella che arriva, guarda rapidamente e se ne va. Amo conoscere le persone oltre che i luoghi, immergermi in altre realtà con codici diversi dai miei, più o meno distanti geograficamente. E’ in questo senso che mi piacciono le avventure. Ma sopratutto, in questa fase della mia vita, mi piace far crescere le cose, le verdure e le piante nell’orto come le idee e le imprese. Spero che non sembri un paragone irrispettoso, ma è proprio così. Credo che in questo risiedano le mie capacità migliori. Un compito nuovo da portare a termine in circostanze e con vincoli ben precisi stuzzica più di ogni altra cosa la mia fantasia ed esalta le mie capacità creative ed immaginative. Piantare semi e idee e vederli crescere, per poi farli camminare da soli per il mondo: al di là di ogni retorica, è davvero la mia gioia maggiore.
5.Allora è in questi termini che stai aiutando questa scuola egiziana a crescere?
Doris: Sì, esattamente. Lì ho avuto modo di conoscere (o conoscere meglio) tante persone di grande ispirazione, in particolare donne eccezionali, come per esempio Azza Fahmy, le artiste orafe Marwa El Dekken, Fadwa Najef, Iman Sami, Issra al Rayess, la direttrice Yasmine Hamalawy, tra le tante. Ci sono anche un paio di uomini (!!) come Gustavo Paradiso. Tra i miei incontri ho conosciuto anche Rachel Chiodo, un’ artista orafa con cui sto collaborando per tenere a battesimo una serie di articoli che usciranno sul vostro Magazine.
6. Vuoi raccontare a chi ci legge qual è l’idea che sarà il filo conduttore di questi articoli?
Doris: Intanto ovviamente ruoteranno tutti intorno a questa città millenaria, come luogo reale e immaginale di incontri e scontri, amori e odi, bellezza e sofferenza, convivenza e ingiustizia, e soprattutto comunità, con tante persone con capacità e idee straordinarie.
L’idea portante, il format diciamo, è ispirarsi alle serie televisive “producendo” degli articoli come se fossero piccoli script per una serie televisiva appunto. Con testo - ridotto al minimo - e soprattutto foto che illustrano l’andamento della trama.
Cominceremo con un episodio pilota il prossimo mese, che ruoterà intorno alla mostra di Fadwa Najef, insegnante della Scuola, raccontando il set up della sua mostra ma, da lì, si svilupperà in una trama che toccherà alcuni momenti della sua vita: dalla sua provenienza, orafa autodidatta nella striscia di Gaza, alla decisione presa di venire a studiare in Egitto. Successivamente racconteremo la storia della Scuola e di Azza Fahmy, la sua fondatrice, quella delle persone che sono passate da qui per fare dei workshop, come Naomi Filmer o Nedda el Asmar, di altre che hanno contribuito a costruirla rimanendo a lungo, come Estela Saez, Giulia Savino, Gustavo Paradiso di quelli - artisti, designer, artigiani, amministrativi - che ci circondano e la fanno vivere quotidianamente. E poi naturalmente anche degli studenti che si sono avvicendati in questi anni, delle loro motivazioni e delle loro attese.
7. Usi il “noi”. Chi esattamente intendi con questo noi?
Doris: Con noi intendo Rachel Chiodo e me. Questo lavoro, come ho già detto prima, lo abbiamo pensato insieme, anche se a distanza, usando molto, come tanti, zoom, per l’impossibilità di vederci fisicamente causa Covid.
E devo dire che non solo ci siamo divertite, ma che è stata anche l’occasione per mettere a punto un modo di guardare alle persone e al lavoro che sicuramente rimarrà fra gli strumenti formativi della scuola.
Doris Maninger
english VERSION OF THE INTERVIEW WITH ARTIST DORIS MANINGER
1. When searching the Internet, the phrase ‘little bit of everything but nothing serious’ often appears next to your name. What does this statement mean to you?
Doris: On the one hand, it means that I always try to not take myself too seriously in what I do- to look at things with a certain irony, also to mitigate the "dramatic" drive that I carry within me. A way of living with my Demons, let's say. On the other hand, I have done many things in life, and I really find it difficult to fix myself and my work in a specific area.
2. When you say field of work are you referring to a "technical" sphere or do you mean something else?
Doris: I mean many things: from the countries in which I have traveled, lived, worked, the various disciplines and the way they work, to the materials and techniques I like to alternate. At present, I am the consultant for a jewelry school in Cairo, the DSAF: Design Studio by Azza Fahmy. I was a fresco restorer in Southern Italy, a weaver, painter, sculptor, brand designer. I co-founded a school of contemporary jewelry (Alchimia, in Florence) and over time I became an educator. I prefer to use this word rather than that of a teacher, a job that I love deeply and for which I think I am well versed. I like to see people grow, in every sense.
3. So now you feel like an educator and, as you read in your biographical notes, "course designer" in Egypt: how did you get there?
Doris: How I got there is a very long story, but in short I would say that I was brought there by circumstances and desires, as probably always happens in life. However, the Middle East (Egypt in particular), has always fascinated me. I could say this began as a little girl when I read The Thousand and One Nights.
4. From this statement of yours, we would be led to think that you can't stay still in one place and that you like adventures.
Doris: Yes, this is certainly true. I state that I have never liked being a tourist in the sense of the one who arrives, looks quickly and leaves. I love meeting people as well as places, immersing myself in other realities with codes other than mine, more or less geographically distant. It is in this sense that I like adventures. But above all, in this phase of my life I like to grow things. Vegetables and plants in the garden like ideas and businesses. I hope it doesn't sound disrespectful, but it's true. I believe that my best abilities lie in this. New tasks to be completed in circumstances and with very specific constraints tickles my imagination more than anything else and enhances my creative and imaginative skills. Planting seeds and ideas and seeing them grow, and then making them walk the world alone: beyond any rhetoric, is truly my greatest joy.
5. In these terms are you helping this Egyptian school to grow?
Doris: Yes, exactly. There I got to know (or know better) and learn from many inspiring people, and particularly exceptional women, such as Azza Fahmy, jewellery designers Marwa El Dekken, Fadwa Najef, Iman Sami, Issra al Rayess, director Yasmine Hamalawy, among so many more there is not enough space to mention now. There are also a few men (!!) such as senior lecturer Gustavo Paradiso. Among my encounters was also Rachel Chiodo, a jewellery artist with whom I am collaborating to baptize a series of articles that will be published in your Magazine.
6. Do you want to tell the reader what is the idea that will be the guiding thread of these articles?
Doris: The articles will revolve around this millenary city, as a real and imaginal place of encounters and clashes, loves and hatreds, beauty and suffering, coexistence and injustice, and above all communities, with many people with extraordinary skills and ideas.
The main idea is the format which is inspired by television series "producing" articles as if they were small scripts for a TV series. A minimal text will accompany all photos that illustrate the progress of the plot. We will start with a pilot episode in September, which will revolve around the exhibition of Fadwa Nayef, a teacher at DSAF, telling the set-up of her exhibition. From there it will develop into a plot that will touch some moments of her life: from its origin as a self-taught goldsmith in the Gaza Strip, to the decision to come and study in Egypt.
Then we will tell the story of the school and Azza Fahmy, its founder, and that of the people who came to do workshops, such as Naomi Filmer or Nedda el Asmar. This includes others who helped build it by staying long like Estela Saez, Giulia Savino, Gustavo Paradiso. All these artists, designers, artisans, administrators - who surround us and make it live daily. And then of course also of the students who have alternated in recent years, their motivations, and their expectations.
7. You use the "we". Who exactly do you mean by this us?
Doris: I mean Rachel Chiodo and myself. As I said before, we thought about this work together at a distance using zoom, like many others have because of the impossibilities caused from the Covid-19 pandemic. I must say that not only did we have fun, but that it was also an opportunity to develop a way of looking at people and at work that will surely remain among the educational tools of the school.
Doris Maninger
Doris: On the one hand, it means that I always try to not take myself too seriously in what I do- to look at things with a certain irony, also to mitigate the "dramatic" drive that I carry within me. A way of living with my Demons, let's say. On the other hand, I have done many things in life, and I really find it difficult to fix myself and my work in a specific area.
2. When you say field of work are you referring to a "technical" sphere or do you mean something else?
Doris: I mean many things: from the countries in which I have traveled, lived, worked, the various disciplines and the way they work, to the materials and techniques I like to alternate. At present, I am the consultant for a jewelry school in Cairo, the DSAF: Design Studio by Azza Fahmy. I was a fresco restorer in Southern Italy, a weaver, painter, sculptor, brand designer. I co-founded a school of contemporary jewelry (Alchimia, in Florence) and over time I became an educator. I prefer to use this word rather than that of a teacher, a job that I love deeply and for which I think I am well versed. I like to see people grow, in every sense.
3. So now you feel like an educator and, as you read in your biographical notes, "course designer" in Egypt: how did you get there?
Doris: How I got there is a very long story, but in short I would say that I was brought there by circumstances and desires, as probably always happens in life. However, the Middle East (Egypt in particular), has always fascinated me. I could say this began as a little girl when I read The Thousand and One Nights.
4. From this statement of yours, we would be led to think that you can't stay still in one place and that you like adventures.
Doris: Yes, this is certainly true. I state that I have never liked being a tourist in the sense of the one who arrives, looks quickly and leaves. I love meeting people as well as places, immersing myself in other realities with codes other than mine, more or less geographically distant. It is in this sense that I like adventures. But above all, in this phase of my life I like to grow things. Vegetables and plants in the garden like ideas and businesses. I hope it doesn't sound disrespectful, but it's true. I believe that my best abilities lie in this. New tasks to be completed in circumstances and with very specific constraints tickles my imagination more than anything else and enhances my creative and imaginative skills. Planting seeds and ideas and seeing them grow, and then making them walk the world alone: beyond any rhetoric, is truly my greatest joy.
5. In these terms are you helping this Egyptian school to grow?
Doris: Yes, exactly. There I got to know (or know better) and learn from many inspiring people, and particularly exceptional women, such as Azza Fahmy, jewellery designers Marwa El Dekken, Fadwa Najef, Iman Sami, Issra al Rayess, director Yasmine Hamalawy, among so many more there is not enough space to mention now. There are also a few men (!!) such as senior lecturer Gustavo Paradiso. Among my encounters was also Rachel Chiodo, a jewellery artist with whom I am collaborating to baptize a series of articles that will be published in your Magazine.
6. Do you want to tell the reader what is the idea that will be the guiding thread of these articles?
Doris: The articles will revolve around this millenary city, as a real and imaginal place of encounters and clashes, loves and hatreds, beauty and suffering, coexistence and injustice, and above all communities, with many people with extraordinary skills and ideas.
The main idea is the format which is inspired by television series "producing" articles as if they were small scripts for a TV series. A minimal text will accompany all photos that illustrate the progress of the plot. We will start with a pilot episode in September, which will revolve around the exhibition of Fadwa Nayef, a teacher at DSAF, telling the set-up of her exhibition. From there it will develop into a plot that will touch some moments of her life: from its origin as a self-taught goldsmith in the Gaza Strip, to the decision to come and study in Egypt.
Then we will tell the story of the school and Azza Fahmy, its founder, and that of the people who came to do workshops, such as Naomi Filmer or Nedda el Asmar. This includes others who helped build it by staying long like Estela Saez, Giulia Savino, Gustavo Paradiso. All these artists, designers, artisans, administrators - who surround us and make it live daily. And then of course also of the students who have alternated in recent years, their motivations, and their expectations.
7. You use the "we". Who exactly do you mean by this us?
Doris: I mean Rachel Chiodo and myself. As I said before, we thought about this work together at a distance using zoom, like many others have because of the impossibilities caused from the Covid-19 pandemic. I must say that not only did we have fun, but that it was also an opportunity to develop a way of looking at people and at work that will surely remain among the educational tools of the school.
Doris Maninger
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hELLO CAIRO SPEAKING -AZZA FAHMY SCHOOL & A SHORT INTERVIEW - 1ST EPISODE
Hello - Cairo speaking
Fall has arrived and here we are again from Cairo,
We are: Doris Maninger and Rachel Chiodo, two artists, teachers and now story tellers. We work in close contact, Doris mostly from Europe, Rachel from Cairo.
Our stories take shape trough a system of ‘Ping-Pong’ emails, one kicks off the ball and then it goes, back and forth, very fast, after the last dot, we start the editing and cutting until the episode reaches its final shape.
You have read about Doris in the interview in July now it’s time to get to know Rachel.
A brief interview to Rachel Chiodo by Doris Maninger :
Doris: In your bio, you refer to yourself as a curator, educator, and fine artist (in that order). How do these relate for you?
Rachel: There is a reason for the order actually- they are in succession of one another and cannot exist independently. Only a year ago I took a degree in curating from the RCA in London after the interest of making exhibitions grew from the love of making objects. Narrative and story building at the scale of the exhibition rather than the object. Prior to this, I have varying types of teaching experiences, mainly in the jewelry field in the US and now here in Cairo, Egypt where I currently live and work. But at the core of all this is my incessant need to work with my hands. Anything I could get ahold of would be at the will of my imagination. Metal and in the skills of making. I always try to have one project going on jewelry making being my preferred way to work…..and material to teach.
Doris: Are you dividing your time and energy between these ‘titles’ at this point in your life?
Rachel: I would certainly say that education and being an educator is the most dominant right now. Past teaching experiences were technical based on the craft of making jewelry. In this way, teaching was a way to keep myself sharp, just for myself…something to percolate on.
I have just finished my second year now at the Design Studio by Azza Fahmy (DSAF) in Cairo, where I am teaching more on the concept building and design side of jewelry making. This is where some of the curator mind comes in- focusing on logic and narrative of a design. How do you transform concept into object?
Doris: How did you come to Cairo? And how do you see DSAF position in the design and crafts field of Egypt?
Rachel: I arrived by invitation back in 2016 to do one year of teaching. Just recently graduating with my bachelors, I felt the total freedom and desire to explore beyond my comfort zone. Prior to this, I hardly left the US.
I soon came to realize DSAF was a melting pot- both of teachers and students which gives it a richness that is unique to the area and craft of jewelry making. The students are not only Egyptian, but from the greater MENA region. The teachers and visiting lecturers, from all over Europe and beyond. I had the pleasure of meeting many artists and educators including yourself; a great influence in the direction of the school and quality of input and output. Ultimately, the school is heartily focused on making individual designers and crafts people- taking their influences, personal visions and narratives seriously, and fostering this growth into a competent jewelry maker and thinker.
It is from this ‘melting-pot richness’ we are taking a closer focus on some of these individuals in writing articles to be published on Lost in Jewellery.
Doris: Why are these articles important stories to tell?
Rachel: As you mention in one of your interview responses, the meaning and existence of communities in Cairo are usually tight-knit, content-heavy treasures, and we have joy of publishing the stories from our own DSAF community. The intersection for our subjects is DSAF, from the founder Azza Fahmy, to the visiting lectures and to the students but the narrative of how they arrived, what happened when they were here, and where are they going now will show a sort of mapping of how this community stretches beyond an old neighborhood in central Cairo.
Our stories as anticipated evolve around a jewellery school, the Design Studio by Azza Fahmy (DSAF) a melting pot both of teachers and students situated in midst of an artist community in old Cairo.
Before really getting into the plot of the series we have to paint the background and we will start with Azza Fahmy the founder of the school.
The story begins when Azza Fahmy (a BA graduate in Interior Design,) discovers a German art book about the classical jewellery of Medieval Europe at an Egyptian book fair. It is this spark that lights the fire of her passion for jewellery. While continuing her day job, she becomes an apprentice in Khan El Khalili, Egypt’s ancient jewellery quarter where she passes her evenings learning with one of the craft’s most respected masters – the first woman to achieve this. What follows is known, a scholarship to the UK to refine her skills and knowledge and the establishment of the Brand which is now known all over the world.
In 2013 she independently establishes the ‘Design Studio by Azza Fahmy’ (DSAF), the first design education hub of its kind in the region.
She is also the initiator of the Foundation for Handicrafts Development and Vocational Training that aims to preserve Egyptian heritage and further develop vanishing handicrafts.
Interview to Azza Fahmy
Doris/Rachel: Dear Azza after reading your CV on the internet my first question is quite a must. Was it the fact that you had to complete your studies in Europe that made you start the school in Cairo?
Azza Fahmy:It was actually the fact that I did not find an adequate place to get a proper education in the field of jewellery design and making in Egypt and had to travel to get this education. When I came back and established a brand name, I felt it was my duty to the Egyptian design community and especially to women to give a chance to learn the basics of the craft here in Egypt because not everyone might be lucky to get a scholarship or can for various reasons leave the country to study abroad like I did.
D/R: In the shaping of the school, how important is it to have a mix of foreign and Egyptian staff & teachers? In your opinion, how does the staff of the school shape the vision and output by students?
A: In many parts of the world jewellery making is viewed as an art rather than just a craft, that’s maybe why the schools there have developed more expertise to teach it. For this reason foreign teachers can help us, especially in the development of the curricula and give a different view to our Egyptian students of what jewellery can and should be. Jewellery is maybe the oldest art form in the world and should be designed and made with this in mind: a wearable sculpture that can and should express the concepts of the artist and maker and the wearer will carry this message out in the world adding her/his own personality to it.
Here in Egypt, we view jewellery making more as a craft so we have quite skilled craftsmen but not really experienced teachers. In this moment our staff is composed by both foreign and Egyptian teachers and this makes the learning environment very interesting and stimulating for both students and teachers.
D/R: The school has grown and evolved over it’s 8 years since opening, how do you see it’s influence in Cairo’s design and craft sphere? How do you see it evolving in the future?
A: I can proudly say that alumni of the school have started quite a number of individual brands and have become teachers, opened workshops, participated in international fairs and exhibitions and this is certainly changing the scene in Cairo creating a healthy ecosystem in this field.
In addition, when there are many competitors in the market the outcomes become more interesting and varied.
For the future I hope that the school will continue to grow, and we will be able to add a research department that develops the traditional techniques and materials and create an archive to be used by artists and designers. Last year we started a vocational school for craftsmen for the jewellery industry, to improve skills and knowledge about new technologies.
D/R: Azza Fahmy jewelry is a mixture of contemporary design with classic motif and historical influences. How do you find this balance between the contemporary and the historical? Is this an important quality in the programmes at DSAF?
A: When I first started learning the skill of making jewellery, I learned this in Egypt’s well-know area for jewellery making and silversmithing- Khan el Khalili, my working station overlooked the famous Sultan Qalawun complex. When I looked at the famous dome, I thought to myself why not be inspired by the calligraphy of the dome for a bracelet. And from there, I began drawing my inspirations to translate cultures and heritage into wearable art. This became the trademark of Azza Fahmy and my hope is to teach aspiring designers and jewellery makers how to be inspired by culture and heritage and present them in a modern way without copying.
At DSAF, we try to transmit these ideas and values and the mixture of traditional skills and contemporary concepts, forms and techniques is at the base of our curricula.
D/R: What is your hope for students after studying at DSAF? Whether in Cairo or abroad?
A: I hope that they develop skills and knowledge, find their own identity as designer makers to establish their own brands and continue their passion for jewellery as teachers passing on their knowledge to others.
I hope that the school is a step to put Egypt on the global map for jewellery design and making.
This was Azza Fahmy the great Lady of Egyptian jewellery design full with passion and ideas for the future and so happy to see and marvel over the work of her students.
Fall has arrived and here we are again from Cairo,
We are: Doris Maninger and Rachel Chiodo, two artists, teachers and now story tellers. We work in close contact, Doris mostly from Europe, Rachel from Cairo.
Our stories take shape trough a system of ‘Ping-Pong’ emails, one kicks off the ball and then it goes, back and forth, very fast, after the last dot, we start the editing and cutting until the episode reaches its final shape.
You have read about Doris in the interview in July now it’s time to get to know Rachel.
A brief interview to Rachel Chiodo by Doris Maninger :
Doris: In your bio, you refer to yourself as a curator, educator, and fine artist (in that order). How do these relate for you?
Rachel: There is a reason for the order actually- they are in succession of one another and cannot exist independently. Only a year ago I took a degree in curating from the RCA in London after the interest of making exhibitions grew from the love of making objects. Narrative and story building at the scale of the exhibition rather than the object. Prior to this, I have varying types of teaching experiences, mainly in the jewelry field in the US and now here in Cairo, Egypt where I currently live and work. But at the core of all this is my incessant need to work with my hands. Anything I could get ahold of would be at the will of my imagination. Metal and in the skills of making. I always try to have one project going on jewelry making being my preferred way to work…..and material to teach.
Doris: Are you dividing your time and energy between these ‘titles’ at this point in your life?
Rachel: I would certainly say that education and being an educator is the most dominant right now. Past teaching experiences were technical based on the craft of making jewelry. In this way, teaching was a way to keep myself sharp, just for myself…something to percolate on.
I have just finished my second year now at the Design Studio by Azza Fahmy (DSAF) in Cairo, where I am teaching more on the concept building and design side of jewelry making. This is where some of the curator mind comes in- focusing on logic and narrative of a design. How do you transform concept into object?
Doris: How did you come to Cairo? And how do you see DSAF position in the design and crafts field of Egypt?
Rachel: I arrived by invitation back in 2016 to do one year of teaching. Just recently graduating with my bachelors, I felt the total freedom and desire to explore beyond my comfort zone. Prior to this, I hardly left the US.
I soon came to realize DSAF was a melting pot- both of teachers and students which gives it a richness that is unique to the area and craft of jewelry making. The students are not only Egyptian, but from the greater MENA region. The teachers and visiting lecturers, from all over Europe and beyond. I had the pleasure of meeting many artists and educators including yourself; a great influence in the direction of the school and quality of input and output. Ultimately, the school is heartily focused on making individual designers and crafts people- taking their influences, personal visions and narratives seriously, and fostering this growth into a competent jewelry maker and thinker.
It is from this ‘melting-pot richness’ we are taking a closer focus on some of these individuals in writing articles to be published on Lost in Jewellery.
Doris: Why are these articles important stories to tell?
Rachel: As you mention in one of your interview responses, the meaning and existence of communities in Cairo are usually tight-knit, content-heavy treasures, and we have joy of publishing the stories from our own DSAF community. The intersection for our subjects is DSAF, from the founder Azza Fahmy, to the visiting lectures and to the students but the narrative of how they arrived, what happened when they were here, and where are they going now will show a sort of mapping of how this community stretches beyond an old neighborhood in central Cairo.
Our stories as anticipated evolve around a jewellery school, the Design Studio by Azza Fahmy (DSAF) a melting pot both of teachers and students situated in midst of an artist community in old Cairo.
Before really getting into the plot of the series we have to paint the background and we will start with Azza Fahmy the founder of the school.
The story begins when Azza Fahmy (a BA graduate in Interior Design,) discovers a German art book about the classical jewellery of Medieval Europe at an Egyptian book fair. It is this spark that lights the fire of her passion for jewellery. While continuing her day job, she becomes an apprentice in Khan El Khalili, Egypt’s ancient jewellery quarter where she passes her evenings learning with one of the craft’s most respected masters – the first woman to achieve this. What follows is known, a scholarship to the UK to refine her skills and knowledge and the establishment of the Brand which is now known all over the world.
In 2013 she independently establishes the ‘Design Studio by Azza Fahmy’ (DSAF), the first design education hub of its kind in the region.
She is also the initiator of the Foundation for Handicrafts Development and Vocational Training that aims to preserve Egyptian heritage and further develop vanishing handicrafts.
Interview to Azza Fahmy
Doris/Rachel: Dear Azza after reading your CV on the internet my first question is quite a must. Was it the fact that you had to complete your studies in Europe that made you start the school in Cairo?
Azza Fahmy:It was actually the fact that I did not find an adequate place to get a proper education in the field of jewellery design and making in Egypt and had to travel to get this education. When I came back and established a brand name, I felt it was my duty to the Egyptian design community and especially to women to give a chance to learn the basics of the craft here in Egypt because not everyone might be lucky to get a scholarship or can for various reasons leave the country to study abroad like I did.
D/R: In the shaping of the school, how important is it to have a mix of foreign and Egyptian staff & teachers? In your opinion, how does the staff of the school shape the vision and output by students?
A: In many parts of the world jewellery making is viewed as an art rather than just a craft, that’s maybe why the schools there have developed more expertise to teach it. For this reason foreign teachers can help us, especially in the development of the curricula and give a different view to our Egyptian students of what jewellery can and should be. Jewellery is maybe the oldest art form in the world and should be designed and made with this in mind: a wearable sculpture that can and should express the concepts of the artist and maker and the wearer will carry this message out in the world adding her/his own personality to it.
Here in Egypt, we view jewellery making more as a craft so we have quite skilled craftsmen but not really experienced teachers. In this moment our staff is composed by both foreign and Egyptian teachers and this makes the learning environment very interesting and stimulating for both students and teachers.
D/R: The school has grown and evolved over it’s 8 years since opening, how do you see it’s influence in Cairo’s design and craft sphere? How do you see it evolving in the future?
A: I can proudly say that alumni of the school have started quite a number of individual brands and have become teachers, opened workshops, participated in international fairs and exhibitions and this is certainly changing the scene in Cairo creating a healthy ecosystem in this field.
In addition, when there are many competitors in the market the outcomes become more interesting and varied.
For the future I hope that the school will continue to grow, and we will be able to add a research department that develops the traditional techniques and materials and create an archive to be used by artists and designers. Last year we started a vocational school for craftsmen for the jewellery industry, to improve skills and knowledge about new technologies.
D/R: Azza Fahmy jewelry is a mixture of contemporary design with classic motif and historical influences. How do you find this balance between the contemporary and the historical? Is this an important quality in the programmes at DSAF?
A: When I first started learning the skill of making jewellery, I learned this in Egypt’s well-know area for jewellery making and silversmithing- Khan el Khalili, my working station overlooked the famous Sultan Qalawun complex. When I looked at the famous dome, I thought to myself why not be inspired by the calligraphy of the dome for a bracelet. And from there, I began drawing my inspirations to translate cultures and heritage into wearable art. This became the trademark of Azza Fahmy and my hope is to teach aspiring designers and jewellery makers how to be inspired by culture and heritage and present them in a modern way without copying.
At DSAF, we try to transmit these ideas and values and the mixture of traditional skills and contemporary concepts, forms and techniques is at the base of our curricula.
D/R: What is your hope for students after studying at DSAF? Whether in Cairo or abroad?
A: I hope that they develop skills and knowledge, find their own identity as designer makers to establish their own brands and continue their passion for jewellery as teachers passing on their knowledge to others.
I hope that the school is a step to put Egypt on the global map for jewellery design and making.
This was Azza Fahmy the great Lady of Egyptian jewellery design full with passion and ideas for the future and so happy to see and marvel over the work of her students.
HELLO CAIRO SPEAKING - FADWA NAyEF a short interview- 2ND EPISODE
Hello Cairo speaking, Episode 2
Featuring artist Fadwa Nayef
Some time has passed and lots of things have happened, but here we are again Doris and Rachel to continue our stories about jewellery in the Middle East and today we are presenting Fadwa Najef and her first solo exhibition in Cairo, in 2019 when galleries were still open.
Fadwa is from Gaza, Palestine and was initially trained as an interior designer. At a certain point she changed career, started to make jewellery and is today an accomplished maker, designer and teacher at DSAF in Cairo. The interview we did with her will give you more insight in her fascinating story.
Doris/ Rachel: At first tell us about yourself and the start of your ‘jewellery journey’
Roughly 11 years ago my sister gave me an old silver pendant, broken in pieces, she knew I collected beads and stones and I made a necklace out of it. I really liked the outcome and so I continued using everything available in my house. 20 necklaces were the result and I was so proud.
In a moment of megalomania (that’s what I would call it today) I rented a space for a little exhibition and it turned out a huge success. I sold everything.
Handmade jewellery was something completely unknown in Gaza and people were utterly surprised and pleased by what they saw.
I wanted to continue and knew I needed to study more. It was not easy but at the end my father found a jeweller in the market (Mohammad Abu Saima) who was willing to teach me some skills.
I had been courageous once so I continued and entered a competition for women with the significant name ‘ I am a Pioneer’ and incredible but true, I won.
This gave me the possibility to continue my studies, I knew that I still had to learn so much.
There was no school I could go to, it is not easy to travel for Palestinians, so they set me up with a Skype workshop with a designer (Nadia Dajani) in Jordan. Distant learning without COVID already in 2015.
For the first time I got introduced to concept and theme and the idea that your own experiences and identity will show in your work no matter what.
I felt that ‘the force’ started to work inside, even if the designer in Jordan was not quite Master Yoda, and I entered and won a second competition.
Again the prize gave me the possibility to continue my education and this time I reached far. I researched and found the Design Studio by Azza Fahmy in Cairo.
It took eight months filled with silence and rejection, to get my Visa but at the end the border opened for one day and only for students, and that was my window into Cairo and so here I am.
Doris/Rachel: Female makers are very rare in the Mena region, how was your position as a maker of jewellery in Palestine ?
People were surprised in my first exhibitions, as I said before, they were not used to seeing handmade jewellery. I actually became the first licensed female jeweller in Gaza and the first all handmade jeweller.
At this point my goal became to be the first internationally known Palestinian jewellery maker in the world,
I wanted to represent my country as a woman and as a maker.
As Palestinians, we are raised to always represent our country in whatever we do, but I also wanted to go bigger and tap into the greater human experiences we all share regardless of where we come from.
We all need to have freedom, and love and hope and a future and I felt I could express this through my jewellery.
Doris/Rachel: So what happened when you came to Egypt to study at DSAF
I came to further my education in techniques and building concept. My intention was to only study for one semester, but here I am after almost five years. I completed the whole academic two year program and am now a teacher in this same school.
We could say that the school sucked me in. Probably because I had experiences I would have never thought of. I took part in the Athens Jewellery Week in Greece 2019 and in the Legnica Jewelry Festival 2018 in Poland. I had teachers from all over the world, artists like Ferran Iglesias, Spain, Naomi Filmer, UK, Giulia Savino, Italy, Gustavo Paradiso, Argentina, Nedda el Asmar, Belgium and then of course the two of you Doris and Rachel. What more could I ever have hoped for?
Doris/Rachel: What is the part you love most in your work if there is a hierarchy?
The journey of thought and research that leads to the concept and the process to translate this into form and at the end into pieces of jewellery is what I love most. How I succeed to translate from imagination or an idea to a drawing then to a prototype and further to a collection of pieces is a kind of adventure. Developing a thought, is like catching a cloud. You can speak about your idea through a piece, not just imagine it but visualise it. It’s important to not always know where you are going and to just trust the process.
Doris/Rachel: You are also a full time teacher now at DSAF, how does the teaching integrate with your personal work ?
When I was told that I could assist in teaching over two years ago, I was at first very surprised. Doris, you told me that teaching was not just about passing information, but that it had to do with generosity, with sharing and of course with the ability to communicate. The most important thing you said was to be passionate about my own work and that of others.
I made sure to assist all the visiting artists and teachers to DSAF, to learn new and different ways of not only making, but also teaching. Taking from all of this I made it my own, to not just imitate but merge ways together to make my own version of teaching and making.
All this is now a very important part of my life and also of my own work.
Doris/Rachel How was the experience of putting together your first collection and solo exhibition?
In our final semester as students, we were asked to make an identity piece. I found in my research that identity is not just your background, but more like concentric circles, each ring representing something that is you. The concept of loss and hope as symbolised through the Anemone flower came from an exercise we did in making 30 different flowers. Going back to my identity, the Anemone is incredibly symbolic in many cultures, including my own. It goes back to what I mentioned about creating work that is at the core, a human experience and not just my own.
This was the first solo exhibition put on by a student in DSAF, so I wanted to learn everything about the process. In the gallery space, I was most focused on the order of what you see first, and how visitors move in a circular way through the three rooms of the gallery. The concept should be clear not only in the pieces themselves, but in the order of work in each room.
Fadwa Nayef
Featuring artist Fadwa Nayef
Some time has passed and lots of things have happened, but here we are again Doris and Rachel to continue our stories about jewellery in the Middle East and today we are presenting Fadwa Najef and her first solo exhibition in Cairo, in 2019 when galleries were still open.
Fadwa is from Gaza, Palestine and was initially trained as an interior designer. At a certain point she changed career, started to make jewellery and is today an accomplished maker, designer and teacher at DSAF in Cairo. The interview we did with her will give you more insight in her fascinating story.
Doris/ Rachel: At first tell us about yourself and the start of your ‘jewellery journey’
Roughly 11 years ago my sister gave me an old silver pendant, broken in pieces, she knew I collected beads and stones and I made a necklace out of it. I really liked the outcome and so I continued using everything available in my house. 20 necklaces were the result and I was so proud.
In a moment of megalomania (that’s what I would call it today) I rented a space for a little exhibition and it turned out a huge success. I sold everything.
Handmade jewellery was something completely unknown in Gaza and people were utterly surprised and pleased by what they saw.
I wanted to continue and knew I needed to study more. It was not easy but at the end my father found a jeweller in the market (Mohammad Abu Saima) who was willing to teach me some skills.
I had been courageous once so I continued and entered a competition for women with the significant name ‘ I am a Pioneer’ and incredible but true, I won.
This gave me the possibility to continue my studies, I knew that I still had to learn so much.
There was no school I could go to, it is not easy to travel for Palestinians, so they set me up with a Skype workshop with a designer (Nadia Dajani) in Jordan. Distant learning without COVID already in 2015.
For the first time I got introduced to concept and theme and the idea that your own experiences and identity will show in your work no matter what.
I felt that ‘the force’ started to work inside, even if the designer in Jordan was not quite Master Yoda, and I entered and won a second competition.
Again the prize gave me the possibility to continue my education and this time I reached far. I researched and found the Design Studio by Azza Fahmy in Cairo.
It took eight months filled with silence and rejection, to get my Visa but at the end the border opened for one day and only for students, and that was my window into Cairo and so here I am.
Doris/Rachel: Female makers are very rare in the Mena region, how was your position as a maker of jewellery in Palestine ?
People were surprised in my first exhibitions, as I said before, they were not used to seeing handmade jewellery. I actually became the first licensed female jeweller in Gaza and the first all handmade jeweller.
At this point my goal became to be the first internationally known Palestinian jewellery maker in the world,
I wanted to represent my country as a woman and as a maker.
As Palestinians, we are raised to always represent our country in whatever we do, but I also wanted to go bigger and tap into the greater human experiences we all share regardless of where we come from.
We all need to have freedom, and love and hope and a future and I felt I could express this through my jewellery.
Doris/Rachel: So what happened when you came to Egypt to study at DSAF
I came to further my education in techniques and building concept. My intention was to only study for one semester, but here I am after almost five years. I completed the whole academic two year program and am now a teacher in this same school.
We could say that the school sucked me in. Probably because I had experiences I would have never thought of. I took part in the Athens Jewellery Week in Greece 2019 and in the Legnica Jewelry Festival 2018 in Poland. I had teachers from all over the world, artists like Ferran Iglesias, Spain, Naomi Filmer, UK, Giulia Savino, Italy, Gustavo Paradiso, Argentina, Nedda el Asmar, Belgium and then of course the two of you Doris and Rachel. What more could I ever have hoped for?
Doris/Rachel: What is the part you love most in your work if there is a hierarchy?
The journey of thought and research that leads to the concept and the process to translate this into form and at the end into pieces of jewellery is what I love most. How I succeed to translate from imagination or an idea to a drawing then to a prototype and further to a collection of pieces is a kind of adventure. Developing a thought, is like catching a cloud. You can speak about your idea through a piece, not just imagine it but visualise it. It’s important to not always know where you are going and to just trust the process.
Doris/Rachel: You are also a full time teacher now at DSAF, how does the teaching integrate with your personal work ?
When I was told that I could assist in teaching over two years ago, I was at first very surprised. Doris, you told me that teaching was not just about passing information, but that it had to do with generosity, with sharing and of course with the ability to communicate. The most important thing you said was to be passionate about my own work and that of others.
I made sure to assist all the visiting artists and teachers to DSAF, to learn new and different ways of not only making, but also teaching. Taking from all of this I made it my own, to not just imitate but merge ways together to make my own version of teaching and making.
All this is now a very important part of my life and also of my own work.
Doris/Rachel How was the experience of putting together your first collection and solo exhibition?
In our final semester as students, we were asked to make an identity piece. I found in my research that identity is not just your background, but more like concentric circles, each ring representing something that is you. The concept of loss and hope as symbolised through the Anemone flower came from an exercise we did in making 30 different flowers. Going back to my identity, the Anemone is incredibly symbolic in many cultures, including my own. It goes back to what I mentioned about creating work that is at the core, a human experience and not just my own.
This was the first solo exhibition put on by a student in DSAF, so I wanted to learn everything about the process. In the gallery space, I was most focused on the order of what you see first, and how visitors move in a circular way through the three rooms of the gallery. The concept should be clear not only in the pieces themselves, but in the order of work in each room.
Fadwa Nayef
' There is a dance' by Fadwa Nayef
Azza Fahmy Jewelry School, Cairo, Egypt.
