The issue of 'artistic unemployment' has once again come to the forefront in Egypt, and the discussion has resumed about some artists seeking other professions, which emerged with the announcement by artist Rami Nader of his desire to work outside the artistic field, confirming that he is looking for a stable opportunity for an office job, and asked his followers on Facebook to help him find a job opportunity.

Artist Rami Nader topped the trend on Google in Egypt on Friday, after he wrote on his Facebook account that he is looking for an office job or work from home for any number of hours, and he showcased his skills and what he is good at, especially related to computer and technology, and his level of English.

Rami Nader has participated in more than 20 drama works and films, in addition to dozens of theater works. Among the works he participated in are the films 'Alf Mabrouk', 'Tek Tek Boom', 'Taweezah Two', 'Harg w Marg', and the series 'Ragel wa Set Setat', 'Hekayat Al Banat', 'Haramt ya Baba', 'Al Le'ba', 'Al Saffara', 'Karetha Tabi'eya', 'Tamer wa Shawkeya'.

The specter of unemployment continues to haunt artists, as has appeared in many cases, and complaints announced by other artists before due to the lack of opportunities offered to them or their absence, including Maha Ahmed, Fadi Khafaga, and Reda Hamed. Artist Tawfiq Abdel Hamid announced his retirement in refusal to present repeated roles, and a stir was raised about what was rumored that he was forced to convert his car into a taxi, which he denied in televised statements, saying that this incident dates back to the 1990s.

Artist Sherif Khairallah had announced his intention to work as a taxi driver for fear of accumulating debt, as he stayed away from art for several years after being ignored, with no artistic work offered to him.

Egyptian art critic Tarek El Shennawy sees that this phenomenon is not new, as many artists in all fields, whether an actor, singer, director, photographer, or editor, have suffered from this before, adding to Asharq Al-Awsat: 'But the phenomenon has become more present now due to the spread of social media, and following these complaints on them and their gaining attention.'

He continued that the problem comes from 'some artists moving away from the scene for reasons related to themselves or the artistic situation that does not accommodate them or contain them or welcome them at a given moment, while demand increases for existing names that have already achieved popularity and are repeated due to laziness by some production companies or directors, or a kind of betting on what is popular among audiences in that period.'

El Shennawy gives an example of artists like Mustafa Ghareeb and Michel Milad, and says they are in demand these days, and thus other names of comedians who achieved remarkable successes fade away just because the artistic situation now demands specific names. El Shennawy rules out that there is a deliberate exclusion of artists by production companies, given the multiplicity of production entities, although one entity controls the largest share, diversity still exists.

In this context, previous statements by the head of the Egyptian Actors' Syndicate, Ashraf Zaki, came, confirming that he has taken many measures to solve the problem of employing actors, although the syndicate is not obligated to employ its members. The United Media Services Company had earlier announced signing a cooperation protocol with the Egyptian Company for Media Production City and the Acting Professions Syndicate to produce a group of historical and religious works, and to implement a mechanism to benefit from artists who have not had opportunities to participate in works in recent years, and involve them in television and radio drama works.

Ashraf Zaki, head of the Actors' Syndicate (Instagram)

Egyptian art critic Mohamed Abdel Rahman believes that 'this crisis never ends; it has existed since the beginnings of the artistic movement in Egypt,' adding to Asharq Al-Awsat that 'when the spotlight fades for some artists, they face financial crises, and thus they turn to other professions. Some artists do not have other skills to work outside art, and here the tragedy begins.' He continued: 'This is a message to young artists to have financial insurance because roles may fade. The issue touches the heart, but it is a reality in all creative professions, and its solutions are not to look for job opportunities, because supply exceeds demand. Also, granting roles is primarily subject to the vision of direction and production, to the extent that one actor may be requested for 10 roles, while these roles could be distributed among 10 actors, but this is ultimately the decision of the producer and director. Therefore, actors should be cautious about this and the fluctuations of the artistic field.'

The Egyptian Acting Professions Syndicate includes about 4,000 members, and undertakes important service roles, including health care for artists, establishing a home for the residence of senior artists, and also makes intensive moves to approve actors' right to public performance, claiming that it will ensure a continuous and semi-constant income for actors and directors, to confront any periods of recession they may face.