Art continues despite terror attack

ISTANBUL

Istanbul’s interdisciplinary art festival, Pera Fest, which has chosen “Art against Discrimination” as the theme of its 14th edition, opened on March 21 with a poetry & music event at Tiyatro Pera. Despite the general atmosphere of fear and anxiety due to the recent terror attack’s proximity to the event, many of the invited artists attended the festival’s opening event.     

During the event, poets Orhan Alkaya, Haydar Ergülen, Cenk Gündoğdu and Hakkı Zariç read their own poems, theater actors Orhan Aydın, Ece Dizdar, Yücel Erten, Nesrin Kazankaya, Jülide Kural, Zeynep Özyağcılar, Ragıp Yavuz recited poems of famous poets while musicians Güvenç Dağüstün, Dodan, Mehtap Meral, Vedat Sakman and Hasan Yükselir sung songs on discrimination, celebrating the spring festival Nevruz, International Day against Racial Discrimination, as well as World Poetry Day. 

The first panel took place at Karşı Sanat Gallery on March 22. Art critic, curator and academicians Evrim Altuğ, Ezgi Bakçay Çolak, Feyyaz Yaman and Emre Zeytinoğlu discussed various aspects of discrimination in art. On March 23, three short films on discrimination were screened, followed by a discussion with filmmaker Enis Rıza Sakızlı. 

Afterwards, a panel on the theme “Discrimination and Media” took place with participation of journalist Tuğrul Eryılmaz, writer Müge İplikçi and academician Professor Aslı Tunç. The panel was moderated by Canan Kaya of the website medyatava. 

After a conference by Professor Zeynep Ahunbay, the last three days of the festival will screen three films at the French Cultural Institute on March 26 and theater plays on the theme of discrimination.

Three productions from alternative theater companies of Beyoğlu will also take part in the program. On March 25, “Kuş Öpücüğü” (Bird’s Kiss), written by Berkay Ateş and directed by Cem Kulan and Emir Çubukçu, will be at D22. On March 26 at İkinci Kat, Nina Raine’s, “Kabileler” (Tribes), directed by Sami Berat Marçalı, will be on the stage and finally on March 27 at Galata Perform, “İz” (The Trace), written by Ahmet Sami Özbudak and directed by Yeşim Özsoy, will be performed.

On the last day of the festival, March 27, which coincides with World Theater Day, a panel discussion will take place at Galata Perform. Authors Cuma Boynukara and Ebru Nihan Celkan, representatives of independent theaters Berkay Ateş, Fırat Güllü, Sami Berat Marçalı, Yeşim Özsoy will speak on the panel moderated by PERA FEST’s Artistic Director Vecdi Sayar.

Further information can be found at the festival’s Facebook page PERA FEST 2016.