Ganzeer

Ganzeer means "chain" in Arabic. He is a regular contributor to the online magazine Rolling Bulb. Described by Bidoun Magazine as a "Contingency Artist," Ganzeer is quite accustomed to adopting completely new styles, techniques, and mediums to adapt to the topic he is tackling at any given time. The Huffington Post has placed him on a list of "25 Street Artists from Around the World Who Are Shaking Up Public Art," while Al-Monitor.com has placed him on a list of "50 People Shaping the Culture of the Middle East." He is one of the protagonists in a critically acclaimed documentary titled Art War by German director Marco Wilms. Also cited by German Arte as one of Egypt's highest-selling living artists today.

• Name — Ganzeer جنزير • Born — 1982 • Birthplace — Giza, Egypt • Field — Public art, stenciling, street art, installation art, graphic design, product design, comic books, creative writing, lecturing

Political street art was not common in Egypt prior to the 2011 revolution, however it has proliferated in public spaces in the post-revolution era. Regarding the genre of artistic production in which he participates, Ganzeer has said that "I'm not exactly a graphic designer, nor am I a product designer. I am not particularly a street-artist or comic book artist, nor am I an installation artist, writer, speaker, or video-maker. But I've had the chance to assume one of those roles at different periods of time and in different locations around the world." Indeed, in addition to his better-known street art, Ganzeer has produced artistic content for "magazines, events, projects and musicians." Ganzeer rejects the label of "street artist," having said that "Being called a graffiti artist is something that I'm entirely against. It's not really fair to other real street-artists because I'm not necessarily a street artist, and I don't think in street art terms."

In 2011, Ganzeer created a series of murals depicting "martyrs" who were killed during the revolution, calling these "Martyr Murals". Although street art of various forms was being produced during the revolution, these murals fulfilled a public desire to see the martyrs commemorated publicly and instantly. Efforts to remove these murals from public buildings led to the May 2011 "Mad Graffiti Weekend" protest action. Ganzeer was detained on 26 May 2011, after he was reported for distributing stickers depicting the "Mask of Freedom" image that depicts "a mannequin's torso with head sheathed in a gimp mask decorated with two miniature wings". Ganzeer has participated in many art exhibits around the globe. In 2011, he participated in a Toronto exhibition titled Cairo 20x20. The exhibition was held at The Mascot Café and Art Gallery and the theme was a look into the capital city of Egypt as portrayed by 20 contemporary Egyptian artists and designers. Each person was given a 20x20 cm canvas and asked to portray what their city meant to them, using any medium. The 20 also included Ibraheem Youssef, Ahmed Hafez, Mahmoud Hamdy, Ahmed Foula and Ibrahim Eslam.

Ganzeer has also created a few comics, including his debut graphic novel The Solar Grid (2019).

This Should be Made Public – Goethe Institut, Cairo, Egypt – 2007 Everyday Heroes – Townhouse Onsite, Cairo, Egypt – 2007 The One Minutes – Rawabet Theatre, Cairo, Egypt – 2008 Tashkeel Gallery, Dubai, Cairo, Egypt – 2008 Urban Artists – Tashkeel Gallery, Dubai, UAE – 2008 Art Threesome – Foundation B.A.D, Rotterdam, The Netherland – 2008 Cairoscape – Uqbar, Berlin, Germany – 2008 Radius of Art – Kiel, Germany – 2008 Up Yours – Kran Film, Brussels, Belgium – 2008 Shatana International Workshop – Shatana, Jordan – 2009 Why Not? – Palace of the Arts, Cairo, Egypt – 2010 Noord – Mediamatic, Amsterdam, the Netherlands – 2010 Cairo Documenta – Hotel Viennoise, Cairo, Egypt – 2010 Meet Phool launch – Darb1718, Cairo, Egypt – 2011 Cairo 20x20 – The Mascot Gallery, Toronto, Canada – 2011 Arabic Graffiti & Egyptian Street Art – Tutankhamun Exhibition, Frankfurt, Germany −2012 Katowice Street-Art Festival – Katowice, Poland – 2012 Expressoes da Revolucaode – Contra Cultura, Porto Alegre, Brazil – 2012 Newtopia: The State of Human Rights – Museum Hof Van Busleyden, Mechelen, Belgium −2012 Theatrefestival Basel – Kaserne Basel, Basel, Switzerland – 2012 Ruptures: Forms of Public Address – The Cooper Union School of Art, NYC, USA – 2012 The Virus is Spreading – Safarkhan Art Gallery, Cairo, Egypt – 2012 Left-to-Right – Kunstquartier Bethanien, Berlin, Germany – 2012 What Are You Doing Drawing? – Nile Sunset Annex, Cairo, Egypt – 2013 Open Sesame – Apexart, NYC, USA – 2013 Face the Vitrine—D-CAF – Cairo, Egypt – 2013 (K)harya "Freedom or Shit" – Hotel Viennoise, Cairo, Egypt – 2013 Back to Square 1 – Forumbox, Helsinki, Finland – 2013 Alwan Festival – Al Riwaq Art Space, Adilya, Bahrain – 2014 Urban Art Biennial—Völklingen—2015 All American By Ganzeer—Leila Heller Gallery, New York—2015