“Made for Women by Women”: A Sultan’s Fair

2 March 2024

The Sultan’s Fairs have become a fixture in the schedule of MASQ activities, offering a wide range of handcrafted objects to revive Egyptian cultural heritage in modern products of everyday use. Happening in parallel with other events, they offer craftspeople both local and from farther afar a chance to directly present and sell their products, and for the visitors to engage with authentic handcrafted works. The fair on Saturday, 2 March 2024 was a “Made for Women by Women” bazaar at the MASQ that supported women handcraft makers of Cairo, one in a series of events in March to celebrate and support women during this month.

This was part of a series of events entitled “The Artist and Her Muse: A Legacy of Women” celebrating women artists in the outstanding historical context of the Sultan Qaitbey neighbourhood. Other events on the same day included a guided walking tour through the “Desert of the Mamluks”; unveiling of a monumental sculpture “Broken Balance” by Claudia Von Funcke; the opening of the exhibition “Wearing Art” by Marwa Zakariya, and the opening of the exhibition “Awakening the Heart” by Rana Chalabi accompanied by a Sufi dancing performance by a female team and by a calligraphic exhibition of Hoda Hassanein.

Social and cultural activities at the MASQ are carried out by ARCHiNOS and its sister not-for profit organisation the Sultan Foundation and are financed primarily by the Drosos Foundation and the European Union.