TLL 103

WEEK 10 – IN-CLASS ACTIVITY

PART 1:
Have a quick look at the text you read before the class:
[Link]

1. Who are Fahrelnissa Zeid and Nejad Melih Devrim?

2. What is the bold statement by Istanbul Modern?

3. Who are the actors that made Istanbul “a significant hub for contemporary art”?

4. What is Arter? Who are its founders? Why is it important?

5. What is the civic ambition of Arter’s founders?

6. What were the most important exhibitions in the Sabancı Museum?

7. What does Eczacıbaşı say about capital owners’ responsibility about art?

8. What is these wealthy families’ position regarding their support to art as regards the political

context?

9. What does the director of Pi Artworks say about the Turkish art audience?

10. What is Anissa Touati’s ambition in her work in Istanbul?

PART 2:
Read the following text taking notes on the questions below:
Where Are Turkish Artists and Turkey at the International Istanbul Biennial? Local Positions
Under the Radar of Global Art by Riccardo Legena, 10 Apr 2021
[Link]
The Istanbul Biennial is not a rupture in Turkish art history, but – more importantly – a transmitter that
carried Turkey’s new artistic developments out into the world while at the same time bringing the
international art community to Istanbul, which the Istanbul Biennial has always succeeded in doing –
perhaps even a little too well.

Istanbul is a longstanding bridgehead on the world map of the global art business. The Istanbul
Biennial is to be mentioned in unison with other major global biennials such as São Paulo, Sydney,
Dakar, Johannesburg, Shanghai or Kwangju. Every two years, the global art jet set travels to the
Bosporus in order to discuss topics which are in no way related to Istanbul or Turkey. Globalized art
has taken over the Istanbul Biennial and is pushing local positions to the edge of the event. Not much
more has remained of the original idea than a good exhibition of international dimensions.
However, it was precisely this globalization of the Istanbul Biennial that forced the local Istanbul to
restructure. During the globalization phase of the Biennial in the 2000s, six contemporary art museums
– Istanbul Modern, Pera Museum, Sakıp Sabanci Museum, Santralİstanbul, Elgiz Museum and
Borusan Contemporary – were created in Istanbul, (Arslan 2009 : 241). Soon afterwards, independent
exhibition rooms and art centers followed. New media such as installation and video art are now being
taught at art academies, while since the turn of the millennium more and more young artists are
turning away from classical genres and start to make conceptual art. Local publishers print art books
and theoretical works in Turkish translation. As a counter-reaction to the globalized Istanbul Biennial,
local biennials like the Sinopale, the Çanakkale Biennial or the Mardin Biennial with political and site-
specific content are being created throughout the country. Even the Turkish state seems to understand
in some way the importance of a contemporary cultural identity and has, for example, granted tax
exemption for all kind of art sponsorship in the private sector (Örer 2013 : 120).

A lot has happened since the opening of the first Biennial in 1986 and much more is yet to come: on
14 September 2019, the latest edition of the Istanbul Biennial under the direction of Nicolas Bourriaud
opened with the title « Seventh Continent » – a reference to the floating mountains of rubbish in the
oceans. A clever leitmotif that can be understood as a call to renounce global art centers. However, the
exhibition has not proven to do so. Bourriaud did not include the important local aspects of Istanbul,
Turkey and the respective art scenes at all (Arend 2019 : 294). It is not yet known when the next
edition will take place due to the ongoing pandemic situation, but it would be extremely surprising if
the Istanbul Biennial were to disappear forever.

Contemporary art has fully arrived in Istanbul, but still no large cultural institution is independent;
almost all of them are owned by foundations from huge multi-national and politically-associated
enterprises (Doğtaş 2017 : 212). Turkey is currently experiencing a politically and socially highly
sensitive phase and it is thus extremely difficult to predict how the Istanbul art location will develop in
the future. As always in Turkey, everything remains possible. Yet contemporary art is not about
institutions, but about people. If independent artists and curators resist the traditionalist drawback, the
local art scene will continue to grow and thrive.

Istanbul today is one of the most interesting art metropolises in the world and it is due to the
globalized Istanbul Biennial on one hand, but perhaps more importantly to the many artists and
curators on the other, who opposed the globalized, site-detached narrative with local, regional,
transnational, and intercultural positions. The goal of the first couple of Istanbul Biennials was to
connect the Turkish art scene internationally, and they more than succeeded in doing so. Today, there
is no important art exhibition in the world without one Turkish artist.

* This is an abridged version of the original article. Courtesy of Arvimm.

Questions:
1. What are the two main functions of the Biennial that are explained at the beginning of the
text?
2. What is the Biennial’s importance in the globalized art? Which biennials can be compared to
it?
3. What is the situation in the Biennial as regards the global and the local?
4. What were the local outcomes of the Istanbul biennial?
a. In terms of art spaces
b. In terms of new forms of art (in terms of production and education)
 5. Which local biennales exist in Turkey, what is their main motivation?
6. What is the state’s stance about contemporary cultural identity?
7. What was the theme of the 2019 Biennial, what was interesting about it regarding local vs.
global art?
8. Can we predict the future of the Istanbul art location, why/why not?
9. What does the following mean “contemporary art is not about institutions, but about people”?
10. Why is Istanbul today one of the most interesting art metropolises in the world?

PART 3:
As you are watching the video, take notes on the Biennial works/venues that you find the most
interesting:
17th Istanbul Biennial, Showcase Special, TRT World (00:00-10:06 mins)
[Link]

PART 4:
Read the short text taking notes on the questions below:
[Link]

1. What does the variety of places in the Biennial tell about the Biennial and the city?

PART 5:
On the following website get some more information on the Biennial venues:
[Link]

PART 6:
Group Presentation (Week 11) further information