Jabal Al-Teir Art Show Opens at Picasso East on 27 Sept
Jabal Al-Teir International Forum opens at Picasso East on 27 September
New Cairo has no shortage of dinner plans, coffee stops and polished mall nights, but on Sunday, 27 September 2026, Fifth Settlement gets a more culture-first evening option: Picasso East in El Narges 3 is opening an exhibition of works produced through the Jabal Al-Teir International Forum at 7pm. The show is tied to a wider artistic and cultural project staged in Minya and inspired by the Holy Family’s route in Egypt, giving the event a local heritage angle that makes it more than a standard gallery opening.
The exhibition was announced this week ahead of the opening, with coverage confirming that the forum was held in Minya under the sponsorship of the ministries of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities and Foreign Affairs, and that the New Cairo opening will be attended by officials including Dr Abdel Aziz Konsowa, currently acting culture minister, Dr Sayed Kandil and Dr Mahmoud Hamed. The same report said the show brings together the artworks developed during the forum’s residency-style experience around Jabal Al-Teir and the Holy Family route.
For New Cairo readers, that makes this a smart night out option if you want something more memorable than another coffee meeting on 90 Street: see the exhibition first, then build the rest of the evening around a proper dinner nearby.
Why this exhibition matters now
Jabal Al-Teir, east of Samalut in Minya Governorate, is one of the best-known stations on Egypt’s Holy Family route. Egypt’s State Information Service identifies the site as the place where the Holy Family crossed to the east bank of the Nile, and links it to the Monastery of the Virgin Mary in Jabal Al-Tair. Official state heritage material also notes the site’s long-standing religious and symbolic importance within the route.
That background matters because the Picasso East exhibition is not simply landscape painting hung in New Cairo. It is rooted in a specific Egyptian place with deep religious, historical and tourism significance. In recent years, Egypt has continued to present the Holy Family route as a major cultural and pilgrimage project, with official institutions repeatedly highlighting its value for heritage, interfaith symbolism and tourism development.
In other words, this is the kind of Fifth Settlement event that genuinely belongs in a New Cairo & Fifth Settlement guide: the venue is local, but the subject is unmistakably Egyptian. It connects contemporary art in New Cairo with Minya’s sacred geography and one of the country’s most resonant heritage narratives.
What to expect at the show
According to the opening announcement, the exhibition presents the artistic outcome of the Jabal Al-Teir International Forum, where place, memory and spiritual atmosphere were translated into contemporary visual work. The report describes the exhibition as going beyond straightforward visual documentation, instead offering varied artistic readings of heritage, identity and the relationship between people and historic sites.
The participant list is substantial, with more than 30 artists named in the announcement, including Mostafa Rahma, Ismail Azzam, Taysir Barakat, Farid Fadel, Rashed Diab, Hind El Falafly, Alaa Awad, Lina Al Ayoubi and others from Egypt and the wider region. That breadth suggests a group show with multiple styles rather than a single-school presentation, which is often the most rewarding format for casual gallerygoers who want plenty to discuss over dinner later.
The venue itself also suits that kind of evening. Picasso East in New Cairo describes itself as a gallery focused on exhibitions, special projects and artistic dialogue, and lists its address as Villa 39, El Narges 3, 90 Street, in front of Lake View Compound. Picasso East’s own site lists its Instagram as picassoeast_artgallery, while the Cairo Urban Initiatives Platform directory for the gallery lists picassoartgallery; because the gallery’s own website is the stronger primary source here, that is the handle worth using when checking updates.
Your Fifth Settlement night-out plan
Start with the exhibition
Arrive a little before 7pm if you want a calmer first look before the opening gets crowded. Picasso East is open in Fifth Settlement and is positioned on 90 Street in a stretch that makes it easy to continue the evening elsewhere in New Cairo.
Then choose dinner by mood
- For a relaxed coffee-and-dessert follow-up: MAASAI Cafe (@maasaicafe on Instagram) is a practical option if you want the night to stay light. Its official site places it at Trivium Square Mall, North 90th Street, and describes the concept as specialty coffee, pastries and chocolate in a calm, design-led setting. That makes it ideal for a post-exhibition debrief rather than a heavy dinner.
- For a hotel dinner with a quieter, polished atmosphere: Dusit Thani LakeView Cairo on South 90 Street is a reliable nearby anchor. The hotel’s official dining page for Straight Kitchen describes an all-day restaurant built around multiple cuisines and open-kitchen cooking, useful if your group wants broad menu choice after the exhibition. The hotel is also one of Fifth Settlement’s easiest recognisable landmarks for out-of-area visitors.
- For classic Egyptian grills: El Dahan is the straightforward choice when the goal is a familiar local meal after a cultural outing. The brand’s official website confirms service in Fifth Settlement, New Cairo and 90th Street, with its menu centered on Egyptian food and oriental grills. If you are turning the outing into a family plan rather than a date night, this is the easiest crowd-pleaser.
Why Picasso East works for this kind of local coverage
Picasso East is not a pop-up venue imported into the area for one night. Its official contact details place it firmly in Fifth Settlement, and its broader programme positions it as an established New Cairo gallery rather than a one-off event space. The gallery’s website lists its address, contact details and opening hours, helping readers plan the visit with confidence.
That matters editorially because New Cairo coverage works best when it is genuinely local in both setting and purpose. This event does that well: a Fifth Settlement gallery is hosting a show drawn from an Egyptian heritage site in Minya, through a forum backed by state cultural and tourism bodies. It is exactly the type of area-based cultural outing that can anchor a full evening in New Cairo instead of being treated as a standalone niche art event.
Should you go?
If your ideal Fifth Settlement plan usually means dinner first and culture second, this opening is a good excuse to flip the order. The Jabal Al-Teir International Forum exhibition offers a timely subject, a documented connection to one of Egypt’s most important Holy Family sites, and a venue that is easy to pair with coffee, grills or a more polished hotel dinner nearby.
For New Cairo residents, that is the real appeal: you do not need a museum day or a long cultural itinerary to engage with an Egyptian heritage story. On 27 September, you can do it in one evening, in your own neighbourhood, and still make it back to the familiar Fifth Settlement pleasures of dessert, coffee or a late dinner after the art.