Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Queen Margaret University (QMU) Edinburgh - Cairo Graduate Lands Leading Role with Egypt’s Leading Contemporary Arts Festival



CAIRO & EDINBURGH, Scotland-Tuesday, November 21st 2017 [ AETOS Wire ]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- A graduate from Cairo has secured a leading role with Egypt’s only international multi-disciplinary contemporary arts festival after achieving a postgraduate arts management degree in Scotland, United Kingdom.

Reem Allam, 23, recently graduated with an MA Arts, Festival and Cultural Management from Queen Margaret University (QMU) in Edinburgh. She has now been appointed as Executive Manager of Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival (D-CAF), which takes place over three weeks in March-April each year, at multiple sites in Downtown Cairo.

Reem also has a passion for both writing and acting. She worked as a journalist for Scotland's Arts and Culture Magazine, TV Bomb, and acted in several short-films, including a film that won an award at the 2013 Filmapalooza Festival in LA, USA.

Commenting on her QMU degree and new role with Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival, Reem said: “I was passionate about gaining academic and practical experience in the management of festivals, and so having this area as a focus within the programme was a crucial persuasive factor for me.

“Edinburgh is highly renowned for its rich culture, so I was able to compliment the academic theory of my studies at QMU through actively engaging with the flourishing arts and festivals sector in the city. I couldn't find a better fit than the city of Edinburgh, including the world’s biggest performing arts festival every summer and an impressive year-round arts scene.”

Reem’s new role with Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival involves planning, delivery and evaluation of the upcoming festival editions. She is responsible for managing seasonal festival staff and fundraising, as well as establishing and maintaining close working relationships with a wide range of delivery partners and artists to ensure smooth running of the festival and successful achievement of its yearly goals.

Reem added: “I’ve managed to land a high profile graduate job with an international arts festival at a relatively young age. This is definitely owed to having earned such a specialised master’s degree in arts and festivals management, which is not offered in any university in the Middle East. My ambition is to make a valuable contribution to the still small yet growing festivals scene in Cairo.”

Reem was awarded a Santander Universities Scholarship through QMU, which helped support the cost of postgraduate study.

For more information on Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival (D-CAF), visit: http://d-caf.org

For more information on Queen Margaret University (QMU), Edinburgh, visit: www.qmu.ac.uk



View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171120005024/en/



Contacts

Jonathan Perkins (Press & PR Officer)
Queen Margaret University
jperkins@qmu.ac.uk
+44(0) 131 474 0000


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