Visual Art

The Goethe-Institut Cairo has offered artists Guillaume Neu-Rinaudo and Birgit Severin from Studio B in Berlin the opportunity to spend two months in the residency space “Weiße Villa” in the neighbourhood of Dokki in Cairo, Egypt. The residency provides a unique possibility to exchange with the Egyptian visual art scene, and to develop their projects further.

Studio b severin is a Berlin-based design studio run by the German-French duo Birgit Severin and Guillaume Neu-Rinaudo.

Following a design research practice, they emphasise the significance of hands-on experiences to advance theoretical knowledge, break boundaries, and embrace complexity. Their interdisciplinary approach offers new perspectives and insights into often unquestioned mundane everyday life materials, objects, and experiences that foster meaningful intercultural dialogues.

The studio pioneers a path towards a socially just and sustainable future by reimagining processes and our material world. Their work has, therefore, been exhibited nationally and internationally at prestigious museums (e.g. Museum of Craft and Design San Francisco (USA), Kunstgewerbemuseum Berlin (DE)), biennales (e.g. Design Biennale of Venice (IT), Biennale in Saint-Etienne (FR)), and fairs.

Additionally, their innovative contributions have been recognised through numerous stipends, including those from Villa Kamogawa (JP) and Kulturakademie Tarabya (TR), alongside esteemed awards like the Marianne Brandt Contest (DE).

During their artist residency at the White Villa in Cairo, the duo explores the network of values and relationships of Egypt's contemporary society through “red bricks”.

Birgit Severin holds degrees in Psychology (MA in Cognitive Neuroscience, Maastricht University, 2008) and in Design (MA in Contextual Design, Design Academy Eindhoven, 2013). In addition to her design practice, she has many years of teaching experience at universities such as HTW- Berlin, Kunsthochschule Berlin Weißensees and as a professor at the GIU Cairo (German International University) since 2022.

Guillaume Neu-rinaudo graduated from the Design School of Nantes (BA in Product Design, 2007) before pursuing his Social Design MA (Design Academy Eindhoven, 2013). After founding his studio in Paris, he joined studio b severin in 2017. With his conceptual and hands-on experiences, he developed interior, product, and exhibition design expertise. Since 2022, he holds a Professorship in Industrial Design, with a social and sustainable focus, at GIU Cairo.