D-CAF is returning for its 14th edition from October 11 to November 2, 2026, bringing contemporary dance, theatre, visual art, music, workshops, discussions and international collaborations to venues across Cairo, with selected performances also heading to Alexandria.
Rather than taking place in one central festival venue, the Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival 2026 is spread across theatres, galleries, cultural spaces and historic locations, with artists participating from Egypt, Palestine, Northern Ireland, Hungary, Spain, Lebanon, France, Germany, Brazil, Sweden, Morocco, Türkiye and beyond.
If you are trying to figure out what is actually happening at D-CAF this year, here are some of the main events to know about.
Performing Arts at D-CAF 2026
This year’s performing arts programme includes eight performances, five of which are making their Arab-world premieres.
The programme begins on October 13 and 14 at Rawabet Art Space with Tá Brón Orm, a contemporary dance production by Northern Attitudes, bringing together artists from Egypt and Northern Ireland.
Also taking place on October 13 and 14 is The Fallen, a Northern Irish production making its Arab-world premiere. Both performances will later travel to the Jesuit Cultural Center in Alexandria on October 16.
On October 16 and 17, Hungarian choreographer and dancer Imre Vass presents Reading the Room at Villa Victoria, a site-specific performance built around the relationship between the performer, the audience and the space itself.
Palestinian artist Salma Ataya brings Everynothing to Rawabet on October 21 and 22. The contemporary dance work follows three dancers trying to find moments of stillness and clarity within a world that is constantly moving and under threat.
On October 23, Palestinian poet Hind Jouda presents Gaza, Oh Joy at the French Institute in Mounira. The performance grew out of her text What Does it Mean to Be a Poet in War Time?, first shared in October 2023.
The programme continues with Three Seasons & A Body by Mohammad Al-Qudwa on October 24, exploring memory, place and what the body carries with it after displacement.
On October 26, Knife Hearts, an Egypt-Germany co-production, brings together Egyptian and Turkish-German dancers in a performance questioning expectations surrounding contemporary dance and performance.
The programme closes with Record, a Lebanon-France-Sweden production by Chrystèle Khodr and Nadim Deaibes, running from October 28 to 30 at Rawabet Art Space.
Exhibitions and Visual Arts
D-CAF’s visual arts programme also spreads across several spaces in Cairo.
Egyptian artist Nermine El Ansari presents Natural Scenes at Villa Violette, with the exhibition later continuing at Mashrabia Gallery of Contemporary Art.
At the Shourbagy Building, Whenever We Cross runs from October 16 to November 1, bringing comics into the festival’s visual arts programme alongside a documentary comics workshop.
Italian artist Jacopo Valentini presents On Zamalek’s Nocturnal Vegetation at Soba Arts Hub from October 18 to 25.
At Beit Tulun, Egyptian artist Ayman Khoury presents Tulun Mosque from October 25 to November 1, looking at architecture and place through photography.
One of the programme’s most recognisable international names arrives on October 30, when Marina Abramović’s Seven Deaths is presented at Legacy Gallery at the American University in Cairo’s Tahrir Square campus.
Workshops You Can Join
D-CAF 2026 is not limited to performances and exhibitions. The programme also includes several workshops aimed at artists, cultural workers and people interested in learning new creative practices.
Spanish cultural practitioner Alejandro de los Santos Pérez leads How to Enter the International Performing Arts Market? from October 12 to 16 at Studio Emad Eddin, focusing on how artists and cultural managers can navigate the international performing arts sector.
Hungarian artist Imre Vass also leads a practice-sharing workshop connected to Reading the Room from October 12 to 14 at Villa Victoria.
Nermine El Ansari leads Episodic Instants: Flickers of Childhood on October 17 and 24 at Mashrabia Gallery, alongside an artistic discussion.
On October 23 and 24, Move… Imagine… Connect brings contemporary dance and dabke together in a workshop led by Salma Ataya, Martha Tribe and Sarah Flavell.
Egyptian artist Mai Karim leads a documentary comics workshop on October 24 at the Shourbagy Building.
For anyone interested in photography, Ayman Khoury’s Capturing the Soul of Architecture focuses on architectural photography using smartphone cameras, including light, perspective, composition and basic image editing.
Talks, Palestine and Cinema
Several discussion sessions also form part of the D-CAF 2026 programme.
On October 23, the festival will present findings from the research project Arab Worlds – Performing Arts and the Need for a Leap, featuring Driss Ksikes and supported by the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture.
On October 24, the French Institute hosts Narrating Palestine: Storytelling and Memory-Making, a discussion exploring how Palestinian stories are told, remembered and preserved.
The following day, AFLAM Off-Site: Taking Cinema Beyond the Screen brings film screenings and discussion to the French Institute in collaboration with Aflam – Cinémas des mondes arabes.
Beit Tulun will also host a discussion connected to Ayman Khoury’s work, examining the historical and contemporary relationship between the Mosque of Ibn Tulun, its surrounding neighbourhood and the people who live around it.
On November 1, D-CAF and the Austrian Cultural Forum present Making Space: Feminist Practices Across Digital and Physical Worlds in the Arts at Rawabet Art Space.
D-CAF Is Happening Across Cairo and Alexandria
One of the defining features of D-CAF is that the festival does not stay inside one venue.
This year’s programme takes place across spaces including Rawabet Art Space, Villa Violette, Villa Victoria, Studio Emad Eddin, the French Institute, Shourbagy Building, Beit Tulun, Soba Arts Hub and AUC Tahrir’s Legacy Gallery.
The festival also extends to Alexandria, where the Jesuit Cultural Center will host The Fallen and Tá Brón Orm on October 16.
The result is a programme that moves between traditional arts venues, galleries, historic spaces and less conventional locations, making the city itself part of the D-CAF experience.
When Is D-CAF 2026?
The 14th edition of the Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival runs from October 11 to November 2, 2026, with selected exhibitions continuing beyond the festival’s official closing date.
With performances, exhibitions, workshops, discussions and events happening across several locations, checking individual dates and venues before attending will be essential.
Whether you are coming for contemporary dance, Palestinian storytelling, visual art, photography, comics or simply want to discover a different cultural space in Cairo, D-CAF 2026 offers plenty to choose from.
