AllArts aims to revive love of traditional art
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Ali Güreli, President Abdullah Gül(R) and Hasan Bülent Kahraman
Aiming to revive traditional Turkish and Ottoman arts that have fallen out of favor in modern times, the AllArts Art Fair at the Istanbul Congress Center will kick off today, providing a glimpse at the favorite artistic pursuits of yesteryear.Calligraphy, kaat, antiques, Orientalist paintings, ebru painting and marble paintings are among some of the art disciplines that will be at the fair, but the most important aspect of the fair is to revive people’s interest in traditional art, according to organizers.
AllArts Chair Ali Güreli said the fair even had the support of President Abdullah Gül.
Taking place at the Istanbul Congress Center, All Arts Istanbul will offer a comprehensive range of artwork from approximately 140 participants. The fair will be presented in several sections; the first section, Classical Turkish Arts, will offer traditional works of art including calligraphy, miniatures, gilding, kat’I (Ottoman-era paper cutting), marbling, binding and tiles, while featuring 92 artists in 12 different categories.
Savaş Çevik
In the third section, participants including Galeri Selvin, Galeri Baraz and Galeri Artist, will display modern and contemporary art.
Ultimately, the fair – the first of its kind in Turkey or the region – will present a broad range of works spanning the period from the ancient to the modern.
Even though the fair also aims to make money, art will also be front and center at the fair, according to Hasan Bülent Kahraman, an academic, expert and consultant team member.
Traditional arts in Turkey have a long history, but an appreciation of the arts has largely not been passed on to the new generation, according to Uğur Derman, a consultant for the fair and an academic.
AllArts destroys the borders between traditional and contemporary arts, as well as between the future and the past in a good way, according to Hüsamettin Koçan, owner of the Baksı museum and a member of the consultancy board.
Hilal Kazan
The fair will use a different approach that will combine the future and the past, or the tradition or contemporary.
“Turkish people have always been forced to make a choice between tradition and the contemporary. This fair, on the other hand, brings a new approach,” Kahraman recently told the Hürriyet Daily News.
Kahraman also dismissed suggestions that only a certain type of visitor frequented shows for traditional art in Turkey. “In Turkey, the modern and the traditional or the contemporary is just like an identity. People are obtaining an identity via contemporary art or contemporary approaches,” he said.
In spite of the traditional environment, the enveloping nature of the contemporary sometimes makes people forget their previous origins. While each booth in the fair contains something from the past or something that is part of Turkish traditional art, the fair could remind Turkish people about the real tastes or their identity.
The conferences at the fair will also contribute to the artistic and cultural scene of Turkey, according to Kahraman. “For example; a talk about the Çinili Hamam by Charlotte Maury from the Louvre Museum will contribute to the current campaign of Turkey to repatriate ancient artifacts.”
A highlight of the program will include a talk on Ottoman art in the context of early architecture from the famed Sinan, as well as the controversial presence of İznik tiles at the Louvre.
Savaş Çevik from Haliç University, meanwhile, will assess the present state of the art of calligraphy, which is deeply rooted in tradition, while also evaluating its common and innovative aspects.
The event starts today and will run until April 21.