EUI Wins Two Awards at Youth Salon
Egypt University of Informatics won two awards at the 36th edition of the Youth Salon, which opened last Wednesday under the slogan "Personal Time," sponsored by Prof. Dr. Abdel Aziz Konsowa, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research and Acting Minister of Culture, and inaugurated by Prof. Dr. Mahmoud Hamed, head of the Fine Arts Sector.
Prof.. Ahmed Hamad, Acting President of EUI, praised the achievements of two teaching assistants from the Faculty of Digital Arts and Design. Omnia Ashraf Ahmed El-Refai won the Encouragement Award in Photography for her painting "Fate," which combines oil painting with painted wooden pieces to create a sense of movement and constant change, imagining a series of leaves as letters carrying moments of our lives before we live them. Her colleague, Habiba Khaled Mohamed El-Samahy, won the Solo Exhibition Award for her painting "The Search for Osiris," which depicts a pivotal moment from ancient Egyptian mythology showing Isis searching for her lost husband Osiris, whose body was scattered across Egypt by his jealous brother Set, with Isis's sister Nephthys helping her gather his remains.
The two winners competed against 1,253 artists who applied to take part in the competition, a pool narrowed down to 253 whose works were ultimately displayed in the exhibition halls. Hamad noted that this marks EUI's second consecutive year winning Salon awards, as both El-Refai and El-Samahy also won prizes last year — a reflection, he said, of the university's success in honing the skills of its faculty and students and encouraging them toward excellence and creativity across the arts, especially given the wide diversity of works featured at this year's Salon, spanning painting, photography, engraving, sculpture, ceramics, performance art, computer graphics, video art, and interactive arts.
He added that university leadership supports faculty and student participation in competitions across all specializations, particularly in digital arts and design, both inside and outside Egypt, so they can sharpen their abilities and gain experience that enriches academic work and student life. This, he said, forms an effective bridge between academic life and Egypt's job market, boosting the competitiveness of the university's graduates and contributing to economic growth through the innovative products and refined art they create — ultimately strengthening Egypt's soft power.
For his part, Prof. Ashraf Zaki, Dean of the Faculty of Digital Arts and Design at EUI, said faculty members pass on the practical experience they gain through participating in various events and competitions to their students, alongside theoretical academic content, in order to sharpen their skills and shape the scientific and professional character that prepares them for the job market and for making a strong contribution to Egypt's fine arts scene. He noted that having two teaching assistants win awards, alongside the selection of a third work — "Faces of Daily Claim" by teaching assistant Mennah Tarek Helmy, which was also displayed at the exhibition — is a point of pride, especially so early in their artistic careers, and serves as motivation for them to pursue further creativity.
Regarding the Solo Exhibition Award won by El-Samahy, Zaki explained that it is an artistic honor granted by cultural institutions and major art competitions to distinguished artists. Rather than simply awarding a cash prize, the organizing body covers the costs of staging a full exhibition dedicated to the winning artist's work — a gesture that recognizes the artist's professionalism and the distinctiveness of their artistic vision.
El-Refai, the photography award winner, described her painting "Fate" as combining oil painting with painted wooden pieces to evoke a sense of movement and constant change, envisioning a series of leaves as letters carrying moments of our lives before we experience them. Over time, their colors shift and fade, much as memories fade, while running dogs in the piece evoke humanity's constant striving — the whole composition expressing a fate that remains ever-present, no matter how the paths change.
El-Samahy, meanwhile, said her winning painting "The Search for Osiris" captures a pivotal moment from ancient Egyptian mythology, showing Isis at the center of the scene during her journey to find her missing husband Osiris, who fell victim to his brother Set's jealousy and was torn apart, his remains scattered across Egypt. Beside Isis stands her sister and companion Nephthys, helping to gather his scattered remains. She explained that she chose to depict the moment just before the search for Osiris's body is complete, with Isis standing on the threshold of the end of her journey. Crocodiles lurk nearby, symbolizing the shadow of the wicked brother Set, whose danger still threatens the journey, while red threads wind around the two goddesses, binding their fates together — a story, she said, of facing hardship with hope, and of a love that knows no bounds, even in the face of death.
