Nomaos is an interdisciplinary collective of Russian and Dutch makers and designers studying how we can influence the development of urban environments by looking at landscapes. Over the course of 18 months, they employed critical artistic research to inform more inclusive urban environments and develop nine speculative narratives for diverse landscapes in Russia, which they presented in Het Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam and Na Peschanoy Gallery in Moscow. Although landscapes in Russia and the Netherlands differ significantly at first sight, the narratives collectively reveal various common foundations in the relationship between humans and landscapes.

In this follow-up phase, the team is reinforcing the project's communication and sustainability. The team will be sharing a series of essays by the makers on the project's website and working on a sustainable plan to continue the conversation on the project platform. In April 2021, the team organised an online seminar 'What Do Landscapes Say? Telling Details of Cross-Territorial Practice', co-hosted by Het Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam and Moscow Architecture School MARCH. With conversations between the team and eight international, cross-disciplinary guest speakers, the seminar deepens the discussion on narratives as a way to acquire and transmute knowledge about the human-landscape relationship.

The core team in this phase consists of initiator and urban planner Yue Mao, curator and artist Naomi van Dijck, architect Polina Veidenbakh, illustrator Ksenia Kopalova, UI/UX designer Maria Malkova, writer Radha Smith, artists Rachel Bacon, Vera Mennens and Nataly Lakhtina.

In collaboration with numerous partners, Tarek Atrissi Design (NL) and AL-QALAM Foundation (EG) organised the activity programme ASIL, aimed at boosting an awareness of the need to preserve traditions and the authenticity of Arabic script in these times of digitalisation. The team organised lectures, workshops and a long-term course for talented local designers in Egypt. The team's extensive research has resulted in two new typefaces, inspired by traditions.

In this follow-up phase, the team is focusing on two new objectives: 1) preparing the new typefaces for publication, use and distribution, and 2) widely promoting the typefaces among professionals via lectures at universities, articles in relevant magazines and a social media campaign. This phase comprises the important final technical, design, promotional and practical support.

'Papyrus and New Media' is a study by designer and writer Abla el Bahrawy into the significance of papyrus for the cultural identity of Egyptians today. The study consisted of a series of material experiments with papyrus and the development of a graphic novel in collaboration with local illustrators: Andeel, Cheb Makhloof & Migo Rollz, Mostafa Ahmed, Hani Mahfouz and Tawfig. The book was published by the Khatt Foundation and tells the story of the past, present and the potential future of papyrus.

This follow-up phase comprises the organisation of an online symposium, the development of an artistic book and a field trip to Syracuse, Italy. Hosted by Megawra-Built Environment Collective, El Bahrawy is organising the symposium to discuss the book with a group of illustrators and curators from the Netherlands and Cairo. Furthermore, the papyrus makers of Qarmoos, Sharkeyya, have been asked to develop a form of papyrus sheets based on the results of the material research and experimentation workshops. The illustrations of the graphic novel will subsequently be screen-printed on this material in the Jan van Eyck Academy's Charles Nyples Lab for use in an exhibition. Finally, El Bahrawy will visit papyrus plantations, a papyrus factory and the Papyrus Museum in Syracuse, Italy, to investigate the possibilities for collaboration with the representatives of these organisations.

Taking Stock is an artistic study into the closure and resultant transformation of the Townhouse Gallery in Cairo. The project was initiated by Mariam Elnozahy, Wouter Osterholt and Elke Uitentuis. Through interactive drawing sessions, the team brought members of the local art community together to reflect on events in the cultural scene. During these sessions, the participants drew the material objects that were left behind in the Townhouse Gallery, to be presented on an online platform along with the stories of the objects.

In this follow-up phase, the team will organise an exhibition at Framer Framed in Amsterdam and the launch of an online platform in Cairo, as well as a number of sessions related to the exhibition, focused on the theme of “sustainable strategies for independent cultural institutions in increasingly uncertain times”. For this purpose, the team will invite representatives from cultural organisations in countries including Egypt, Turkey, Lebanon and Palestina. The results will be published in the online magazine Mada Masr and fed back to upcoming local art initiatives, including 6 Bab Sharq in Alexandria and Studiokhana in Cairo.

'We Are Data' is an exchange programme organised by IMPAKT (NL) and Cairotronica (EG), focusing on the effects of today's data-driven society on our daily lives. The team has noticed that discussions about data collection, ownership and access still primarily focus on the American and European contexts. This project calls for more attention for the situation in Africa and other continents as well. In a series of workshops, six talented Egyptian makers (Shadwa Ali, Imane Ibrahim, Ahmed Aiuby, Ahmed Soleman, Mona Mankhlouf and Sabah El Hadid) collaborated with three Dutch makers (Coralie Vogelaar, Jeroen van Loon and Sabriana Verhage) to create new works, which they presented at the end of 2020 in an exhibition in the center of Cairo.

In this follow-up phase, the definitive works will be presented at the end of April 2021, as part of the Cairotronica Festival. Furthermore, the team will develop an interactive online platform containing a detailed documentation of the process, a recording of the final results at the festival, interviews with the makers and presentations by a group of international experts. The platform focuses on four themes: Data & Narrative, Data Bias & Discrimination, Data Governance & Accessibility and Data & Possible Future Scenarios.