Xinhua reports that the sixth edition of "Forever Is Now," an international contemporary art exhibition organized by Art D'Egypte, opened Sunday and runs from November 8 to 28 across Egypt's Giza Plateau.

The show transforms the desert landscape near the pyramids into an open-air gallery, inviting visitors to explore the passage of time, cultural memory, and the pyramids' enduring influence through works in steel, stone, and vivid colors.

According to Xinhua, founder Nadine Abdel Ghaffar framed the event as a chance to showcase both ancient and modern Egypt, telling the outlet that international visitors come to see not just a 7,000-year-old civilization but also contemporary Egyptians.

She also stressed that the exhibition is open to everyone and draws school and university groups each year, saying art should not be limited to collectors.

Among the standout works is "It Is Time to Plant Love" by French-Chinese artist Jiang Qiong Er, an installation of 12 towering, gold-colored guardian figures made of stainless steel and fiberglass that symbolize shared values such as peace, freedom, equality and wisdom.

Xinhua notes her participation carries special significance this year, as Egypt and China mark the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations. "At a time when most artists are striving to find differences, I am truly seeking common ground," Jiang told Xinhua.

Abdel Ghaffar pointed out that Jiang's involvement marks the exhibition's first collaboration with a Chinese artist, according to Xinhua's report.

Jiang said art cannot resolve conflicts, but that it "can at least open a window, open a door, allowing us to engage in dialogue, to try to understand one another, and to walk together into our shared space."

Xinhua's walkthrough of the show catalogs the specific installations a devoted art reader will want to know.

Turkish sculptor Seckin Pirim's "The King's Road" features limestone columns evoking ancient ruins in distinctly contemporary forms, which he envisioned as "a gate and a portal" opening from the present toward the pyramids.

Egyptian artist Emad Abu Grain's "Talisman of Salvation," six carved stone blocks and rope, draws on the Book of the Dead and the ancient belief that knowledge was essential to attaining eternity.

French artist Geoffroy Pithon's "Hortus Pictus" frames a pyramid through a painted arch, while French-American artist Raphaele Shirley's "Passage" is a walk-through tunnel of woven palm reeds, copper and steel.

Rounding out the lineup, per Xinhua: Rochelle Nembhard's eight egg-shaped limestone "Celestial Vessels," Abdul Rahman Taha's sculptures stacked from the Egyptian board game tawla, and Charlotte Colbert's silver steel arch crowned with an eye inspired by the Eye of Horus.

On a far humbler scale, The New Pelican reports that Pompano Beach mixed-media artist Mark Viau, a former Artist in Residence at the historic Bailey Contemporary Arts Center, has opened his "Experiments & Accidents" exhibition at the Pompano Beach Cultural Center, on display until January 6, 2027.

The newspaper describes works that embrace surprises and spontaneity, built from wood, screws, wires and acrylic paints using sanding, layering and upcycling techniques rooted in his construction background — including "Jaco 1981," a tribute to bass great Jaco Pastorius.

According to The New Pelican, a Detroit native who earned a fine arts degree from Wayne State in 1998 and moved to Florida for pool construction work, Viau revived his art career during the 2020 pandemic.

"Part of my work is not caring about the rules of art," the paper quotes him saying, and his piece "Mighty Fire" appears as an album cover for local band The Heavy Pets.