For the first time, AUC will host a three-week public arts festival, Artozium, at the New Cairo campus. Packed with a myriad of events, Artozium brings free concerts and plays, film screenings, art workshops and exhibitions from June 10 to July 1. Interested attendees can register for these events and view the full Artozium schedule here.

Cairo’s historic art scene is centered downtown, and with more people moving to New Cairo, Artozium hopes to make AUC’s campus a hub for an emerging art scene east of the Nile, explained Wael El Mahallawy, music professor, chair of the Department of the Arts and general manager of Artozium.

“Artozium covers not only New Cairo but also the New Capital and Al Shorouk,” El Mahallawy said. “There are very few theaters, exhibition venues or galleries in this area, so the festival should attract a lot of people since they would have to travel downtown to watch these activities.”
 

Artozium features collaborations with cornerstones of Cairo’s art scene, including a screening of film shorts shown at the renowned Zawya Cinema, a performance by the Cairo Arab Choir, screenings from the Manassat Film Festival, performances by both the Reda Folklore Dance Troupe and the all-women Egyptian drum band Tablet El-Sett.

Attendees can also experiment and enhance their creative talents through art workshops on ceramics, filmmaking and puppetry, taught by AUC faculty and professionals in the field.

The festival’s name is a portmanteau of the words “art” and “symposium,” with the letter “z’” emphasizing the festival’s focus on developing Gen Z artists and creatives. 

“Our target is mainly Gen-Z, plus all the different ages,” said El Mahallawy. “We merged the five programs in our department — graphic design, visual art, film, music and theatre — into one big project.”

The festival will also feature an interactive standup comedy show by actor Tarek El Ebiary ’12 and a rousing percussion performance by the drummer Mostafa Abbas. Additionally, Artozium will display the exhibition, A Title Resembling an Unstable Image Exhibition. Curated by artist Ahmed Shawky Hassan, the installation showcases the work of emerging artists in  various mediums who explore cities as a constantly reshaping living structure.

The event will also celebrate the artists found within our AUC community. The exhibition Mashrou’ 26 showcases the creativity of the University’s 12th and largest graduating class in graphic design. Alumni will perform in the plays Gat Salima and El Masyada, with Hekaya Bel Maqloub featuring current undergraduate students and the Theatre Association will perform a showing of Neseet El Cheque. Student organizations Musicana and AUC’s Folklore Troupe will also conduct performances.

Chase F. Robinson (CASA '86)

Chase F. Robinson is the Spring 2026 undergraduate commencement speaker. Robinson has served as director of the National Museum of Asian Art in Washington, D.C since December 2018. Robinson also serves as the general editor of Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization and a member of the editorial board of Past & Present.

A highly regarded scholar of Islamic history and culture, Robinson has authored or edited nine books and more than 40 articles spanning the geographical and chronological breadth of the Islamic Middle East. His editorials and commentaries have appeared in several magazines and newspapers, including The New York Times.

Robinson previously served as president and provost of the City University of New York’s Graduate Center, as well as professor of early Islamic history in the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Oxford and chair of the department’s faculty board.

Robinson earned his bachelor's degree from Brown University and his doctorate from Harvard University, having also studied at the American University in Cairo.

Marwa Abbas '94, ’98‏

Marwa Abbas ’94, ’98 is the Spring 2026 graduate commencement speaker. She currently serves as the general manager and technology leader of IBM Northeast Africa, after joining the company in 1994. 

With over 30 years of experience in the technology industry, Abbas has held IBM leadership positions in Egypt, the Middle East and Africa, working in the Personal Computing Division, General Business Unit, ibm.com, Business Partner Organization and Channel Marketing. She was appointed the first female General Manager of IBM Egypt in 2022 and has played a pivotal role in expanding IBM’s centers of excellence, advancing AI and digital transformation initiatives.

In 2013, Abbas created and launched the first Middle East and Africa Digital Sales Center in Cairo and established the operation for the MEA Digital Sales Center servicing the MEA clients. 

Abbas serves on several boards and is a certified board director by the IFC World Bank Group. She holds a bachelor’s in computer science and an MBA from AUC.