İKSV strong in 40th year despite lack of infrastructure
ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News
The figures show that some 500,000 people are attending to IKSV’s events on a yearly basis, which means the foundation reaches only a limited number of people, according to IKSV General Manager Görgün Taner.
For 40 years now, Istanbul has been blessed with the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV), which has provided the Turkish cultural scene with a unique dynamism, operating in all creative fields. In the foundation’s 40th year, a lack of infrastructure still continues to be the chief impediment to cultural institutions. A country’s economic aspirations cannot be fulfilled without cultural development, and a high state of cultural development is not really possible without the internalization of artistic consumption as a culture by all levels of society, according to IKSV General Manager Görgün Taner.500,000 people attending the events
“In our 40th year, what I have been chiefly wondering is how many of the 15 million people in Istanbul have room for İKSV in their lives. The figures show that some 500,000 people are attending our events on a yearly basis, which means we reach only a limited number of people. The question that follows is how many among these 15 million people have room for creative industries or artistic consumption in their daily lives. When I am talking about this I do not mean to question how many go to classical music concerts or see ballets or operas. I am asking, rather, how many people are buying a film on DVD, or how many people are downloading a song they like, let alone buying the track or the album. If artistic or cultural consumption is not a part of a society’s daily diet, efforts for its promotion cannot be expected to yield miraculous results,” Taner said.
Turkey has always needed a sound cultural management policy, Taner said. “Istanbul still does not have a proper concert venue. The Culture Ministry lacks the necessary funds to renovate the AKM, and is doing it with sponsors. Of course this is also related to the government’s priorities in distribution of resources. We are still referring to buildings by the construction firms that built them, notby their architects. In these times, when cheap labor has shifted the focus to the Far East, we can only make a difference by placing a cherry on top of the cake, which means by investing in creative industries, which requires funds and well-planned strategies. Unfortunately we have neither.”
İSKV’s 40th anniversary has also become an opportunity for Taner to acknowledge the fact that İKSV has contributed to raising three generations of art lovers in Turkey. “I recently learned that Turkey’s ambassador to the U.K. once worked as an usher at İKSV events. İSKV has touched the lives of many people; in our 40th year we are proud to be able to say that.”
İKSV’s operations are an incessant quest to learn about today’s art and culture scene, Taner said. “We are interested in what is happening at this very moment around the world. There is a misunderstanding about us. We are not an elitist institution. But if you are trying to be a pioneer, you cannot hope to be spread too thin, this is against the nature of the material. Our concern is with bringing the global art scene to Istanbul, and our doors are open to everyone who is interested to know what’s happening at the far ends of the world in terms of arts and culture.”
Berlin Philharmonic to join 40th anniversary celebrations
The Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV) has hosted audiences totaling more than 255,000 at a series of events in the first half of 2012 honoring its 40th anniversary.
These events included four large-scale festivals and a special show titled “Istanbul Istanbul,” which was commissioned from La Fura dels Baus to mark the 40th anniversary, and which 9,000 people watched.
The foundation’s big celebration event in the coming season is the İKSV 40th Anniversary Special Concert by the Berlin Philharmonic on Sept. 27, which will feature the young Turkish soloists Efe and Fora Baltacıgil, under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle.
Following this concert, the foundation is set to continue to host the world’s leading conductors and classical music orchestras in November and December. On Nov. 10 İKSV will present the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Lorin Maazel and on Dec. 7 sisters Güher and Süher Pekinel will join the Maggio Musicale Fiorentina Orchestra conducted by Zubin Mehta for local classical music lovers.
“It is not only about classical music. On Sept. 29, İKSV’s autumn film week, Filmekimi, will kick off. The event will travel to six more provinces this year. We are very excited about this October, because it will also see the Istanbul Design Biennial,” Görgün Taner said. Another significant event the foundation is preparing for December is an international symposium on classical Ottoman music composer Itri, curated by Gönül Paçacı.
Sponsors
Eczacıbaşı has been the leading sponsor of all Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV) festivals since the foundation’s establishment 40 years ago as an initiative of the late Nejat Eczacıbaşı, the founder of the group. We strongly believe that corporate social responsibility projects in any field should contribute to a positive transformation of society. Culture and the arts not only enrich people’s lives, they also provide a powerful platform for unleashing and enhancing a community or nation’s creative energy and creating a cohesive positive vision of its cultural, social and economic potential. In this sense, İKSV has played a key role in Turkey’s development over the years while also enriching its social and cultural life. For all these reasons and more, we are proud to be a part of this organization’s past and gratified that we are able to continue contributing to its mission through the support provided by our companies and colleagues.
Temel Kotil - General manager, Turkish Airlines
Turkish Airlines is the official airliner of İKSV. We have supported the foundation for two years to do our share in contributing to the cultural richness the foundation brings to Turkey. We provide the foundation with transportation and cargo support in their efforts to bring world-famous artists to our country. İKSV’s importance in Turkish cultural and artistic life is beyond dispute.
İKSV had a fundamental role in turning Turkey into an important culture center in the world, in addition to promoting Turkey’s cultural richness globally and to presenting to Turkish audiences the most prominent examples of global cultural and artistic production. İKSV has invested great effort in raising awareness about all fields of art and artists, and the effort has yielded success. The numbers of participants at İKSV’s festivals, concerts and biennials has been the soundest proof of this success.
Michel Akavi - CEO, DHL Express Turkey and France
DHL Express is the official carrier of İKSV. Our collaboration with the foundation dates back to 1994 when we were listed among the golden sponsors of the Istanbul Film Festival. Since 1995 we have continued our support as a corporate sponsor. İKSV has been incessantly working on turning Istanbul into a center of arts and culture and to render culture and arts an integral part of our daily lives in Turkey. Turkish art lovers have the chance to see many prominent cultural events from the other side of the planet thanks to İKSV’s meticulous efforts. Furthermore, İKSV has made great efforts to turn Istanbul into an international meeting point in arts and culture by promoting Turkey’s cultural richness in the international arena. İKSV is a pioneer in terms of its support of the development of art in Turkey. We hope our collaboration lasts for many years to come and celebrate İKSV in its 40th year.