The 5th International Cairo Biennial for Porcelain

Egypt.. mother of civilizations.. mother of plastic arts; on its land the ancient Egyptian created magnificient works of art; statues, obelisks. The inscriptions and drawings on the walls of temples proved the greatness of the Egyptian artist and how he taught the world the arts of sculpture, drawing and porcelain.
In continuation of Egypt's pioneer role in the various kinds of arts, the end of the 20th century has witnessed the 20th round of Alexandria Biennial in November 1999. In addition, at the beginning of the new century and the Third Millennium, Cairo has witnessed the 5th International Biennial for Porcelain during the period from May 23-23 June 2000.
The idea of holding such a biennial was generated 10 years ago.

Opening Ceremony
The opening ceremony of the 5th International Cairo Biennial for Porcelain was held at the Egyptian Opera House, Gezira. It was an artistic manifestation shared by the admirers of fine arts, creators and potters from Egypt and all over the world.
The number of countries participating in the biennial reached 66 with about 540 artists. Thus, the biennial is most represented in this round since its first round in 1992 where the number of participants was 25 countries with 113 artists and the second in year 1994 with 37 countries and 197 artists. The third round was in 1996 where 47 countries participated with 225 artists and the fourth in 1998 with 61 countries and 356 artists as participants. The constant increase in the number of countries participating from the beginning of the biennial up till now is remarkable since it reflects how the Cairo Porcelain Biennial and the organization of its successive rounds is so successful that artists from all over the world compete not for winning prizes but just for the honour of participating in the biennial.
Egypt ranks first as to its participation in the biennial as the number of artists participants reached 157. Italy ranks second as it participated with 35 artists, then comes Argentina with 22 artists. There is also a good Arab representation in the biennial; the number of Arab countries participating reached 13 countries with about 203 works of art.

Exhibitions and Seminars
The works of the 5th International Cairo Biennial for Porcelain were exhibited in a group of the most beautiful plastic arts exhibiting halls. The works of young artists were exhibited at the Arts complex hall in Zamalek, whereas the works of the artists of the 66 countries participating were exhibited at the Nile Hall in the Arts Palace at the Opera House yard at which the fascinating opening ceremony was held. The works of the biennal's guests of honour; the Egyptian artists Hasan Heshmat and Muhammad Sha'rawi were exhibited at the hall annexed to the Egyptian Opera House.

On the sideline of the biennial, a great international seminer was held for three days at the conference room of the Higher council for Culture. A number of 21 artists From Kuwait, Germany, Mexico, Austria, England, Uganda, Iceland, Italy, Turkey and Malta participated in the seminar. The seminar tackled the private experience of the participants.
Winners
The jury of the 5th International Cairo Biennial for Porcelain composed of 7 members: Neno Karozo and Emi Doglas from Italy, Fernz Staller from Germany, Ingrid Samuel from Austria, Bett Nicholas from Luxembourg, Liz Sibol from Denmark and Mostafa al-Razaz from Egypt. Each has a distinguished history.

The LE 30,000 grand prize was awarded to Dr. Zeinab Salem. There are 5 other prizes, worth LE 15,000 each, were awarded to Bardi Philip from Switzerland, Lagi Leshenol from Italy, Muhammad Bakr al-Fayoumi and Ramzi Mostafa from Egypt and Inas Hughes from Hungary. A number of 7 arbitration prizes worth LE 700 each were awarded to el-Gamila Gohar from Kuwait, Helina Korteez from Norway, Yong Gay Shon from Korea, Muhammad Bashandi, Ramzi Mostafa and Dia'a al-Din Abdallah from Egypt and Maher Latif from Iraq.
The biennial's prizes for youth were 5, worth LE 10,000 each and were awarded to Osama Hamza Zagloul (Egypt), Wa'l Kamal Darwish (Egypt), Ahmed Muhammad Ali (Egypt) and Aza Ali (Egypt) and Ilina Evanova (Bulgaria). In addition, arbitration prizes for youth totalled 7, worth LE 5,000 each. They were given to Oscar Irik (Argentina), Marabella Quick (Hungary), al-Sharnobi Muhammad (Egypt), Hesham Abdel A'al (Egypt), Ashraf Salama (Egypt), Muhammad Ahmed Abdel Hadi (Egypt) and Medhat Sha'ban (Egypt)

Abundant History
The 5th International Cairo Biennial for Porcelain was keen on honouring 2 great figures Hasan Heshmat and Muhammad Sha'rawi who were chosen by the biennial as guests of honour and pioneers in the field of porcelain, each has an honourable and distinguishable history.

The Artist Hasan Heshmat
He was born in 1920 in Menof. In 1938, he graduated from the Faculty of Applied Arts and in 1957 he travelled to Germany on a scholarship to study porcelain. He is considered the first to produce small statues embodying the Egyptian environment.
Throughout his artistic life, he has participated in numerous international exhibitions. Many of his works are exhibited in world museums such as the Modern Arts Museum in Egypt, the Human Museum in Paris, the National Museum in Warsaw and Beijing Museum.
Numerous books and films were issued depicting his life, presenting a model of giving and pioneering to youth. Many of his works and big statues exist in squares all over the world; there is a two-metre bronze statue of two female peasants in Sweden, a statue at the entrance of Egypt Air in Paris (8 metres), four statues inside and outside Cairo stadium, eight statues in Cairo's finest hotels and an eight-metre statue at al-Gala'a square in Cairo.

The Artist Muhammad Sha'rawi
He was born in 1916. In 1935, he graduated from the Facalty of Applied Arts. Since his graduation, he occupied several positions in the Ministry of Education and supervized the artistic activity of incoming students.
In 1966, he presented the first private exhibition for porcelain at the Syndicate of Journalists. He participated in the International Vanitinra Competition in Italy from 1970 till 1973 and obtained many diplomas of excellence. Berlin Museum has acquired many of his works as well as Czech Republic, Hungary and Egypt museums. In addition, he participated in numerous exhibitions in Paris and Bonn; they acquired most of his works.
The success of the 5th International Cairo Porcelain Biennial is a natural result of its good preparation and organization.