ARCHIEF CAIRO X MACGUFFIN MAGAZINE
Workshop IL7ARF
Cairo, November 2023

Coinciding with The Letter, MacGuffin collaborated with Archief Cairo, a collective based in Egypt, to organise a temporary design studio in November 2023. This event brought together a diverse group of young image-makers, designers, and writers from the region. With the ethos of MacGuffin Magazine in mind, the Arab world was considered through the eyes of the letter, investigating the use and reuse of vernacular typography in the Middle East.

During the week around 15 designers and thinkers guided one another through a series of field trips, including visits to the IFAO, home to the world's last hieroglyphic printing press and the calligrapher Khodeir El Borsaidy, whose typography dominated the Egyptian film world in the 1970s. There were also lectures by, among others, designer Kinda Ghannoum of the Syrian Design Archive and by researcher Ghalia Elsrakbi on the 'vernacular type lab' she organises in Egypt.

The trip culminated in a workshop co-organised with Archief Cairo. A publication showcasing the results of the workshop is on sale here.