The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

In a world where there is so much creative exchange regarding music,
images and ideas; where do the lines of creative license start and end? If
you’ve ever been interested in the concept of creative commons in a
contemporary art context, we suggest you join the new reading group that CIC is
initiating in July 2010, called Open Content/ Open Source Reading Group.

‘Open source’ is a computer programming term, where programmers leave
the codes for their software open for others to copy or make their own software
adaption from. Anybody or indeed everybody is the author, owner, giver and
taker of this software.

Applying the same concept to the art world; art and music have always
borrowed generously from each other and experienced various stages of influence
and adaptation. The reading group will address the critical question of ‘why
then do we still think of an artwork as a single object that is owned, created
and profited from?’

Organised by CIC’s new artistic director Mia Jankowicz, Salma Abutaleb
and Ahmad Gharbeia, the group will explore issues such as media piracy,
collaborative art production, multiple authorship and artist copyright versus
‘copyleft.’

Readings will include Why Software Should Not Have Owners by
Richard Stallman, Introduction to The
Author as (Digital) Producer by Geoff Cox and Joasia Krysa and Roots Culture: Free Software Vibrations Inna
Babylon by Armin Medosch.

There is a series of themes to follow, but CIC wants to leave the path
of discussion open for the readers to direct and define. The majority of the
texts are in English while some key texts might be translated into Arabic.

The reading group will tentatively meet once every two weeks from July
to September 2010. For more information or to sign up for the reading group,
please contact the CIC.