ISLAMABAD: Thank God it’s Friday.
And if you fall in the category of those residents who prefer being out and about, there’s plenty of options to choose from, what with art exhibitions, winter bazaars, car shows, and tech competitions taking up the top spots this weekend.
For starters, Serena hotels are hosting a vintage and classic car show on Friday night. An event which can delight both avid and amateur car enthusiasts, the exhibition will showcase the personal collection of individuals who have put their passion and energy into the restoration and preservation of vintage vehicles.
If that does nothing to rev up your engines, how about a short course on hacking for takeaway? Visit the National Convention Center where JAZZ mobile is teaming up with CODE for Pakistan for a weekend-long hackathon. The three-day event will require you to work with other attendees to create prototypes to address civic and social problems.
Next on the list is the Winter Fete which is being held on Saturday. In its third year, the exhibition brings together various fashion and lifestyle brands under one platform – the perfect indulgence for those who love shopping.
Moving on, this one is probably having the last laugh (or loaf?). Polly & Other Stories will be at Loafology for a pop-up day on Saturday, December 12, to share their well-curated collection of goods. After a successful run in Lahore a few weeks ago, the group will work with local artisans, artists, and brands to showcase goods that you can empty your pockets for, even as you bite into that delicious croissant on site from Loafology.
You could even head to the Arts and Crafts Village at the Pakistan-China Center where My Art World will once again prove why they are the best in the business. Packed with a powerhouse of talent, their latest chapter, titled ‘Urban Agglomeration’, will run until December 13 and feature work by artists such as Amal Uppal, Waleed Zafar, Risham Faiz, and Neha Maqsood.
Last, but not the least, wrap up your weekend with Hot Spot where Nirvana Event Management has set up an open mic and bonfire night for those looking to relax and have fun at the same time.
What to do this weekend in Islamabad
What to do this weekend in Islamabad
- Residents are spoilt for choice with art exhibitions, winter bazaars, car shows, and tech competitions
- There’s something to delight everyone in the capital
Art Cairo spotlights pioneering artist Inji Efflatoun
CAIRO: Art Cairo 2026 returned to Egypt’s bustling capital from Jan. 23-26, with visitors treated to gallery offerings from across the Middle East as well as a solo museum exhibition dedicated to pioneering Egyptian artist Inji Efflatoun.
While gallery booths hailed from across the Arab world, guests also had the chance to explore the oeuvre of the politically charged artist, who died in 1989.
Many of the pieces in the 14-work exhibition were drawn from the collection of the Egyptian Museum of Modern Art and cover four main periods of the artist’s work, including her Harvest, Motherhood, Prison and Knoll series.
Efflatoun was a pivotal figure in modern Egyptian art and is as well known for her work as her Marxist and feminist activism.
“This is the third year there is this collaboration between Art Cairo and the Ministry of Culture,” Noor Al-Askar, director of Art Cairo, told Arab News.
“This year we said Inji because (she) has a lot of work.”
Born in 1924 to an affluent, Ottoman-descended family in Cairo, Efflatoun rebelled against her background and took part heavily in communist organizations, with her artwork reflecting her abhorrence of social inequalities and her anti-colonial sentiments.
One untitled work on show is a barbed statement on social inequalities and motherhood, featuring a shrouded mother crouched low on the ground, working as she hugs and seemingly protects two infants between her legs.
The artist was a member of the influential Art et Liberte movement, a group of staunchly anti-imperialist artists and thinkers.
In 1959, Efflatoun was imprisoned under Gamal Abdel Nasser, the second president of Egypt. The artist served her sentence for four years across a number of women’s prisons in the deserts near Cairo — it was a period that heavily impacted her art, leading to her post-release “White Light” period, marked dynamic compositions and vibrant tones.
Grouped together, four of the exhibited works take inspiration from her time in prison, with powerful images of women stacked above each other in cell bunkbeds, with feminine bare legs at sharp odds with their surroundings.
The bars of the prison cells obstruct the onlooker’s view, with harsh vertical bars juxtaposed against the monochrome stripes of the prison garb in some of her works on show.
“Modern art, Egyptian modern art, most people, they really don’t know it very well,” Al-Askar said, adding that there has been a recent uptick in interest across the Middle East, in the wake of a book on the artist by UAE art patron Sultan Sooud Al-Qassemi.
“So, without any reason, all the lights are now on Inji,” Al-Askar added.
Although it was not all-encompassing, Art Cairo’s spotlight on Efflatoun served as a powerful starting point for guests wishing to explore her artistic journey.
