ABOUT ATHAR LINA
Athar Lina is a participatory conservation initiative to establish modalities of citizen participation in heritage conservation based on a vision of heritage as a resource not a burden. It is based in al-Khalifa in Historic Cairo and run by the Built Environment Collective|Megawra in partnership with the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities, Cairo Governorate and a number of local nongovernmental partners.
Athar Lina believes that only when cultural heritage is beneficial to the community, will the community become an active partner in its conservation. It believes that conservation can be a vehicle for development if practiced in a participatory inclusive manner. To enable the community to become an active partner, workshops and research projects are developed and implemented to determine the priorities and devise strategies. These are a necessary step towards implementation of feasible impactful interventions.
To motivate the participation of the community and sustainability of the interventions, conservation is combined with social development and tourist promotion activities. Furthermore, the projects target children as one of the principal beneficiaries, hence the introduction of the educational program.
PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH AND DESIGN WORKSHOP 2
3
4
PARTICIPATORY WORKSHOP ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MONUMENTS AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS Jun – Dec 2012; Funded by the Danish Egyptian Dialogue Institute. Athar Lina started with a series of workshops, debates and meetings between stakeholders to discuss the relationship between the monument and the surrounding neighbourhood of al-Khalifa, the entities responsible for it and those with a vested interested in it or even those inconvenienced by it. Over six months, more than 60 participants discussed who owns heritage, who protects it and improves it and who puts it at risk. Stakeholder workshops, meetings and exhibitions resulted in intervention recommendations based on three principles: 1.
Conservation and rehabilitation of heritage sites for the benefit of the community;
2.
Fostering ownership of heritage in future generations through heritage education;
3.
Socio-economic development as an overarching framework for conservation and heritage management activities.
5
Athar Lina’s work continues to follow these three main lines.
Mawlawiyya performance; focus group meeting; presenting Athar Lina to al-Khalifa people; ineractive map design.
CONSERVATION AND REHABILITATION 6
7
8
DOME OF SHAJAR AL-DURR CONSERVATION PROJECT Nov 2013 – Dec 2015; funded by the American Research Centre in Egypt with additional funding from the Barakat Trust – UK. Built in 1250 AD by Egypt’s only female ruler during the Islamic period, its unique features include its glass mosaic mihrab - the only intact example of its kind in Egypt - and the intricate vegetal and geometric decorations on the interior walls, uncovered for the first time by Athar Lina’s conservation team. Main conservation activities included: 1.
Masonry repair such as grouting, crack repair, brick exchange, removal of cement plaster, and desalting;
2.
Conservation of carved stucco;
3.
Revealing and conserving the decorative interior of painted stucco;
4.
Conservation of wood included the painted inscription frieze and reused carved frieze dating from the Fatimid period;
5.
Interior and exterior plaster work.
9
Shajar al-Durr and adjacent building; painted plaster conservation; carpentry; stone conservation.
10
REHABILITATION OF AN EARLY 20TH CENTURY BUILDING INTO A COMMUNITY CENTRE Nov 2013 – Apr 2014; Private donations. Basic cleaning, crack repair, tiling, plaster, electricity and plumbing work was carried out to re-open this 150 square meter building as a community centre with a cultural program for architects and urbanists, and a social program for the community including heritage education for children, public health, and craft and design related capacity building.
11
Community meeting in Khalifa community center; main courtyard after rehabilitation; children activities; capacity building workshop.
12
AL-SAYYIDA RUQAYYA, JA’FARI AND ‘ATIKA CONSERVATION PROJECT Nov 2014 – Dec 2015; funded by the US Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation. Dating from the mid-12th century, these three vision shrines built in memory of descendants of the prophet are still a popular site of visitation and religious activities sponsored and organized by the local community. The shrine of alSayyida Ruqayya contains the largest carved stucco mihrab in Egypt and those of al-Ja’fari and ‘Atika are the only example of twin domes from the Fatimid period. All three domes are rich in carved stucco decoration, while al-Sayyida Ruqayya boasts a beautiful polychrome dome interior. Main activities included: 1.
Major structural repair such as grouting, crack repair, stone and brick exchange, removal of cement plaster, and desalting;
2.
Conservation of carved and painted stucco;
3.
Interior and exterior plaster work.
13
The domes of S. Ruqayyia, ‘Atika and a;-Ja’fari; masonry conservation; carved stucco conservation; painted inscription conservation.
14
AL-IMAM AL-SHAFI’I DOME CONSERVATION PROJECT Jan 2016 – June 2018; funded by the US Ambassadors’ Fund for Cultural Preservation. Al-Imam al-Shafi’i is the founder of one of the four rites of Sunni Islam. The mausoleum, which dates to 1211 AD with later additions from the 14th to the 19th centuries, is a palimpsest of Islamic decorative styles. Its wooden dome is considered the biggest in Egypt and is decorated in a variety of styles dating from the 13th to the 19th century. Its intricately carved cenotaphs are the finest examples of their kind from the Ayyubid period. Conservation activities currently taking place as part of the first phase include: 1.
Conservation of carved stucco exterior;
2.
Masonry repair including crack repair, grouting, stone exchange, and repointing;
3.
Excavation of dome interior and repair of subsidence problems;
4.
Conservation of marble cladding.
15
Al-Imam al-Shafi’i dome; stone conservation; carved stucco conservation; interior painted wooden frieze documentation.
16
CONSERVATION STUDY FOR THE DOMES OF AL-ASHRAF KHALIL AND FATIMA KHATUN June -Dec 2017; funded by the Barakat Trust UK. The two domes, both dating from the 13th century and located in a-Khalifa, are currently inundated with water. The peripheral walls suffer from partial collapse. Their decorative elements, most notable of which is the carved stucco interior of al-Ashraf Khalil dome are slowly eroding. The conservation study includes a condition survey, historical study and proposal for dewatering and conservation.
17
Aerial view showing the domes of al-Ashraf Khalil and Fatima Khatun; stucco grill in alAshraf Khalil; ornamments in Fatima Khatun.
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM 18
19
20
SCHOOL FOR ART AND HERITAGE Feb – Apr 2013 in Shagarat al-Durr Primary School; funded through private donations.
Weekly one-day workshops for 5th and 6th primary children in a local government school designed to raise awareness of the neighbourhood’s heritage and engender ties to it. Activities, run by volunteers, included art, crafts, drama and site visits.
21
Field trip in Ibn Tulun Mosque; craft activity; art activity; drama activity.
22
KHALIFA HERITAGE SCHOOL Jun 2014 - present; funded through private donations, sale of Athar Lina products and proceeds from the Private School Program.
Daily summer program for al-Khalifa’s kids run for free with help of volunteers and non-profit organisations. In an attempt to establish and strengthen ties between the children and their neighbourhood’s heritage, a safe haven for play and learning is created in al-Khalifa Community Centre in the Athar Lina conservation node. Children learn about their heritage and participate in art, sports, craft and religious activities in addition to enhancing their basic literacy skills. The centre is run in collaboration with community members. At the request of parents and children, the educational program was extended into an after-school program in which children come on a weekly basis for help with school work and to participate in weekend workshops.
23
Art activity; craft activity; agriculture activity; group picture.
24
PRIVATE SCHOOL PROGRAM April 2015 – present; funded through fees.
Created to support the free educational activities for al-Khalifa’s children, this paid program organises interactive play dates in al-Khalifa’s monuments for private schools to educate them on their heritage in fun and exciting ways. Three different one-day activities are offered. They include treasure hunts, jigsaw puzzles, art activities and specially designed board games.
25
Collage activity in Ibn Tulun Mosque; group picture; storytelling activity in Gayer anderson Museum; jigsaw game in Ibn Tulun Mosque.
26
ATHAR LINA | FUS-HA June – Dec 2015; funded by UNHCR in collaboration with Terre des Hommes.
Over a span of seven months, trips and art activities for 200 Syrian and Egyptian school children in historic sites in Cairo celebrated the values of diversity and acceptance and alleviate estrangement by emphasising historic links between Egypt and Syria. They were used to develop visual and performance art events. These events brought together Syrians and Egyptians from four institutions and one network operating in three different districts in Cairo thus facilitating networking, cooperation, and pooling of resources between CSOs.
27
Field trip in Ibn Tulun Mosque; follow up session (games and toys theme).
28
FUS-HA IN THE MUSEUM May 2016; funded by UNESCO Cairo.
A four-day training of trainers workshop to produce a heritage education kit to celebrate the cultural relationships between refugees and hosting communities and promote values of diversity and acceptance. 20 participants from museums and educational NGOs design and test interactive activities inspired by the Gayer-Anderson Museum artifacts.
29
Field visits to understand the surrounding area, activities with the children, outcome workshop.
TOURISM AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 30
31
32
TOURIST PROMOTION Oct 2013 – present; funded by the British Council, UNESCO Cairo, AIC, crowdsourcing matched by Zoomaal and DEDI. Spend Your Day in Khalifa is an annual event to promote al-Khalifa’s tangible and intangible heritage and raise awareness of Athar Lina’s efforts to conserve it and transform it into a community resource through: 1.
Encouraging residents to participate in social, economic and cultural development activities;
2.
Garnering support and creating partnerships within civil society, young volunteers, and donors to work to conserve heritage and raise its profile as a national resource.
Annual events were organised starting 2013. Activities include murals and graffiti celebrating al-Khalifa’s heritage and its community, street performances, craft exhibitions, guided tours and interactive heritage education activities and sport events. In 2013, the highlight was Chirine El-Ansary’s storytelling performance weaving the history of the street with stories of its people. In 2015, the event expanded into a 3-day extravaganza that included the inauguration of Athar Lina’s conservation projects and the closing event for Athar Lina Fus-ha.
33
In 2016, Darb al-Husr football pitch, a collaborative effort between Cairo Governorate and Athar Lina was the setting for sport activities for the street’s children and the band Oscar March roamed the side alleys with horn music. 2016 was also the year SDK became part of Nas wa Turath, a heritage celebration event on which ten initiatives from six different cities collaborate. Over the years, artists have adorned al-Khalifa’s walls with maps highlighting its heritage, artwork inspired by Gayer-Anderson Museum artifacts and by al-Khalifa’s crafts and street life, in addition to way-finding signs. Athar Lina has collaborated with Mashrou3 Kheir, Nafas, and Egypt Heritage Network to organize these events. Athar Lina also organizes monthly guided tours to al-Khalifa’s heritage sites with themes focusing on its spiritual history (the Saints tour); its relationship to the political history of Egypt (the Sultans tour) and its main public spaces (the Suqs and Squares tour). It has also staged film screenings on the façade of Shajar al-Durr Dome
Workshop’s exhibition; guided tours; map of the street; Shajar al-Durr performance by al-Khalifa children.
34
KHALIFA EXCHANGE – ATHAR LINA’S CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAM Feb 2015 – present; Self-funded through fees.
A knowledge exchange program between craftsmen and designers from alKhalifa and outside it, the experimental phase targeted people interested in carpentry. The workshop spanned four months, through three phases: (design – production – marketing). This was followed by a group of workshops, including one that brought together a product designer and a lantern maker to work on a new lantern design derived from al-Khalifa’s heritage, another one brought copper artists from Egypt and Morocco together. A blog was set up to promote the work of participating crafts-persons, in addition to the Athar Lina products whose profit is dedicated for children activities in al-Khalifa.
35
Copper workshop; Fawanis workshop; wood workshop; final product of the wood workshop.
36
ATHAR LINA’S OPEN SPACES PROGRAM Apr 2015 – present; Based on research made possible with individual support from IIE; in collaboration with the Faculty of Urban and Regional Planning, Cairo University and Takween-ICD.
This component aims to increase the efficiency of urban systems of al-Khalifa thus upgrading the built environment to the benefit of both residents and cultural heritage.
In an attempt to raise the impact of the project beyond conservation and soft social development activities, the initiative widened its scope to include physical upgrades on the urban level. It started by building a GIS system that includes information about buildings’ structural condition and heritage value, land use, urban and demographic characteristics, in addition to information about urban systems’ problems such as water, waste and open spaces. We commissioned an anthropological study on the infrastructure and its effect on the quality of life, and a waste management study of al-Khalifa and surrounding
37
streets. Waste tends to accumulate around monuments and historic buildings. Studies of the current waste collection system resulted in recommendations on different scales to improve the system and avoid some of it faults, in addition to planning to build parallel participatory systems for recycling inside the area that lightens the load on the current system while also benefiting the area’s economic and social systems. Also underway is a study of empty lots which are a health and fire threat due to waste accumulation. In cooperation with local authorities, the lots were mapped and cleaned. A study of their ownership status and the potential for temporary use for public benefit is underway.
Darb al-Husr lot before and after rehabilitation; Khalifa housing stock; view of a street in al-Khalifa.
CROSSCUTTING PROJECTS 38
39
40
ATHAR LINA GROUNDWATER RESEARCH PROJECT Aug 2016 – Dec 2018; funded by the American Research Centre in Egypt and the American Embassy in Cairo. A multi-disciplinary research and training program that aims at devising innovative integrated solutions for groundwater problems in historic settings with the participation of an international team of architects, conservation experts, planners and experts in urbanism, environment, infrastructure and water resources. The program is organised, in collaboration with Oregon, Cornell and Cairo universities, Takween ICD, and A for Architecture, to: 1.
Study the phenomenon of ground and subsurface water rise in historic areas and its effect on historic buildings;
2.
Train professionals and scholars in the field of heritage conservation on state of the art techniques for treatment of historic buildings suffering from salt and water damage;
41
3.
Organise an international school to develop integrated methodologies for the treatment of water extracted during dewatering processes to be used as an alternative supply of water for cleaning, industrial, or irrigation purposes;
4.
Pilot one or more proposed methodologies in al-Khalifa.
The pilot, al-Khalifa Heritage and Environment Park, is a 3000 square metre park with a women’s gym, a kindergarten, an urban gardening and heritage awareness centre, play areas, shops and cafeterias. The northern wing of the park is funded by Cairo Governorate and UN Habitat.
3D design of the Khalifa Heritage & Environment Park; the view of the park (domes of al-Ashraf Khalil and Fatima Khatun); work session; feiled trip.
42
ATHAR LINA HERITAGE DESIGN THINKING SCHOOL Jan 2018 – Dec 2020; funded by Drosos Using design thinking methodologies, the Athar Lina Heritage Design Thinking School builds new modalities for presenting cultural heritage to the public as a tangible product or intangible experience of interest and relevance thus transforming heritage into a resource of socio-economic benefit to the community. It brings children and artisans from al-Khalifa in Historic Cairo with designers from BEC-Megawra’s network within a program of learning-throughdoing. This program provides them with the practical skills that enable them to use heritage as a source of inspiration for income-generating design and selfexpression in the form of: 1.
Craft and art products that employ traditional material and techniques to produce modern designs of contemporary relevance and;
2.
Heritage inspired activities and mediums of self-expression such as guided tours, performances, storytelling and interactive heritage education that bring history to life.
43
The project uses design-thinking tools that are solutions-focused not problemfocused, combining analysis with synthesis to obtain results efficiently. It includes the following activities: 1.
Two teaching programs, the first bringing together craftspersons and designers, and the second for teenagers of al-Khalifa. These programs teach participants how to employ design-thinking in the process of designing heritage inspired craft and art products and activities;
2.
Develop the existing Khalifa Heritage School to connect the children to their heritage and introduce them early on to the concept of the right to heritage as a resource they can benefit from;
3.
An underlying livelihood component that develops a line of products and program of heritage activities within a feasibility, capacity building, and marketing plan that by the end of the proposed project will create a sustainable model of marketing heritage as a hybrid of crafts, arts and activities. The profit generated from this component is kept aside as seed funding for this self-funded sustainability phase that comes after the proposed project. Athar Lina line products.
ADDRESS Megawra al-Khalifa (Khalifa Community Center); opposite of al-Sayyida Ruqayya Mausoleum, beside Shajar al-Durr Dome, al-Ashraf St., al-Khalifa E-MAIL info@megawra.com TELEPHONE (+20) 106 702 1656 WEBSITE www.atharlina.com FACEBOOK PAGE www.facebook.com/atharlina/