TITLE:
Season of Place Perfection: Urban Memory, Street Art and Public Festivity in Cairo
AUTHORS:
Sadek Saad
KEYWORDS:
Placemaking, Street Art, Memorial Landscape, Graffiti, Wall Writing, Urban Memory, Public Festivals
JOURNAL NAME:
Current Urban Studies,
Vol.14 No.2,
June
2,
2026
ABSTRACT: Throughout the past century, celebrations have traditionally drawn people out of their homes to come together in streets, parks, gardens, community grounds, and places of worship to mark events. Public festivals can be a source of exclusion. Musical festivals, for example, invite those with specific culture or musical taste and exclude others. The author argues that public festivals can be a source of inclusion, not exclusion, if they are driven by public interest and by place- and memory-making. The study investigates the role of festivals in generating memories and identity. By examining elements of street art and urban memory, the author was able to pinpoint the traces left by public festivals on place identity, social bonds, and placemaking, both tangible and intangible. The study targeted an informal area in eastern Cairo, Ezbet Hamada. The area is located within the Mataria district and became known for its annual Ramadan festivals. Ezbet Hamad’s festival proved the residents’ ability to create memory traces, street art, and place identity year-round. Graffiti and wall writing deliver the place’s memorial landscape.