Mounted on the exhibit wall, three black and white drawings by student artist Maram Alsayed ’25 display mystical scenes of animals with humanistic characteristics while flame-like patterns swirl in the background. 

In the first scene, a man dressed as a medical doctor donning an Ottoman fez is surrounded by animals, including similarly dressed lambs holding hands and two chickens carrying a cane. The next scene depicts a shisha party with only one human attendee; the rest are animals. In the final drawing, a woman decorated with indigenous elements is holding up a doll, surrounded by chicken and Arabic religious text. 

These drawings were already curious upon first glance, but a closer look revealed a QR code in the corner that brought the audience to a camera view on their phones where, suddenly, the drawings jumped to life. Color filled the characters as zar music started emanating from viewers’ phones. The characters from the scenes were alive, each of them telling a story with their audiovisual transformations. 

Beneath the animated scenes was a book featuring the 12 ‘spirits’ from the scenes, with accompanying text in English and transliterated Arabic explaining the characters’ stories. “Zar has always been practiced, sung and felt but never visually imagined in detail,” said Alsayed. “This project gave me the opportunity to design and visualize 12 spirits based only on their songs, symbolic traits and cultural cues.” She is the first designer to visually imagine the spirits of the zar.

“The project contributes to preserving Egypt’s intangible cultural heritage, ensuring that a spiritual practice tied to healing, identity and cultural memory is not lost with time.” 

Beyond bringing the tradition to life, Alsayed’s was a project in cultural heritage, preserving the Egyptian zar ritual through a visual archive. “Giving these spirits a form is a crucial step in protecting and honoring a belief system that is still recognized in Egyptian culture,” said Alsayed. “The project contributes to preserving Egypt’s intangible cultural heritage, ensuring that a spiritual practice tied to healing, identity and cultural memory is not lost with time.” 

Illustration gave Alsayed the freedom to interpret each spirit’s identity, colors and sacrifices in the ritual, while augmented reality allowed her to incorporate sound and motion interactively. She said, “I studied rituals, lyrics and sacrificial practices, tracing the symbolic framework of the zar through a deep-dive into history and translations.”

Alsayed drew her inspiration from an authentic live zar music performance by the Mazaher Band. When speaking with performers, Alsayed was struck by one of their comments: Many of the traditional Egyptian songs have lost their meaning. “That moment became the seed of this project. Behind every chant or lyric was likely a story, a spirit and a history waiting to be uncovered,” she said.

The AUCian traced the origins of these songs and reimagined their lost narratives, structuring her project around the themes of the possessed, the summoned and the sacrificed — “the narrative framework of the zar ritual’s journey,” she said. “The zar has existed for generations but is often overlooked, misunderstood or undocumented.”

Designed by student artist Rola Wael ’25, The Litter Mystery is a children’s book featuring a dialogue between two Egyptian children, Mido and Toti, about the final destination of litter, which Mido believes magically disappears every day. The story’s protagonist is an enthusiastic trash can named Binbin who doubles as a guide and mentor throughout the story, teaching children the true harms of littering by explaining where it ends up.

The idea began with Wael’s interest in using design for social good. She wanted to address an issue relevant to Egypt and make a real difference. 

“I noticed how common littering is and how rarely it’s addressed in early childhood education. That sparked the idea to tackle this issue through storytelling, something children naturally connect with,” said Wael. She chose to target children between 3 and 4 years old, the age where habits begin to form.

When choosing a format for her art, Wael found that storytelling offered structure and emotional connection, while interactive elements encouraged participation and critical thinking. “That’s how The Litter Mystery was born: a playful, mystery-based story that follows kids as they solve where all the trash is coming from with the help of a friendly trash bin character, Binbin.”

“Ultimately, it’s about building a more conscious future generation, starting with small actions.”

Wael experimented with different forms of media, including interactive elements in the book along with a QR link to a short animation showing where litter ends up after it’s been thrown away. “Kids at this age learn best through touch and play, so I incorporated flaps, spinning wheels and page-turn surprises.”

The book was designed to make environmental education accessible to very young children in Egypt by incorporating familiar local settings like schools and neighborhoods. “The story organically introduces sustainable practices without sounding like a lecture,” said Wael.

The AUCian hopes that her book also sparks conversations at home and school, extending the impact to parents and teachers. “Ultimately, it’s about building a more conscious future generation, starting with small actions,” she said.

Wael is currently in talks with bookstores that are interested in publishing The Litter Mystery. “The goal is to get it into schools, bookstores and homes across Egypt,” she said.