Artist, architect, designer

Cairo, Egypt

Artist in Residence at Rote Fabrik from July to September 2021

Engy Mohsen is an artist, architect and designer. While spatial design remains at the core of her interdisciplinary practice, she works -solo and collaboratively- with text, drawing, photography, performance, discursive acts and conversation as a medium. She explores the notions of ‘participation’ and ‘collectivity’ by hosting formats of meeting that invite non-artists and artists to think about how spaces can be organized to include the ‘other’.

At Rote Fabrik, Engy will be developing “How to Love Many in Many Ways”, a collection of game and exercises created by 10 artists, in collaboration with artist Gabriel Hensche. The work departs from the desire of finding different ways in which we can connect with one another while experiencing different ways of on-again-and-off-again home confinement and the varying degrees of lockdown on a global scale. This started to manifest in a way that a structure was developed to look deeper into the notions of mutual care and ‘love’ in the expanded sense of the word. What, for instance, could love beyond romantic or familial relations mean? How would love that goes beyond friendship look like? And how does love to non-human beings manifests?

During the residency period, she would like to host ‘game nights’ and try out the games and exercises first hand with others. These rounds of trial runs would allow for some troubleshooting to pinpoint bugs in the games while they’re still being created and might lead to the creation of a spatial structure in which the games can be played and performed.

Engy holds a joint bachelor’s degree in Architecture from the German University in Cairo and The Brandenburg University of Technology in Cottbus, Germany. She took part in Roznama 6 Studio Program, MASS Alexandria’s Independent Studio/Study Program and Artists for Artists (AfA) Masterclass.

Coaching by Tara Lasrado

Realised by IG Rote Fabrik and Pro Helvetia Cairo Swiss Arts Council

Links to Websites with works from the artist