Ottomans and Europeans in Istanbul exhibition
ISTANBUL
Organized with the collaboration of the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV) and the Cittadellarte-Pistoletto Foundation with the support of the Culture Program of the European Union, the exhibition is curated by Beral Madra and presents the works of Leone Contini, Erol Eskici, Eda Gecikmez, Naci Güneş Güven, Driant Zeneli and Mary Zygouri.
Last year in June and July, the exhibition’s artists came together for an artist residency program titled “Blind Date Sessions” at the Cittadellarte-Pistoletto Foundation’s center in Biella, Italy, where they had the opportunity to build theoretical collaborations and dialogue with senior participants Gülçin Aksoy, Ergin Çavuşoğlu, Güven İncirlioğlu, Adrian Paci, Michelangelo Pistoletto and Igiaba Scego. The works to be featured are the artistic outcomes of these encounters.
Since 2012, the “Ottomans and Europeans: Reflecting on Five Centuries of Cultural Relations” project has proposed a journey through five centuries of shared cultural history between Europe and Turkey to change perceptions of citizens and artists from both sides.
The partners of the project are Center for Fine Arts (BOZAR) Brussels from Belgium, İKSV from Turkey, the National Museum in Krakow from Poland, the Cittadellarte-Pistoletto Foundation from Italy, the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna from Austria, and Witte de With for Contemporary Art from the Netherlands. The project partners organize exhibitions, conferences and artist residencies in various locations.