What's on: Globetrotting photos, shows to hit the road for, and more
A biweekly roundup of art exhibitions, cultural events, and arts and culture news in Istanbul and elsewhere in Turkey.
Photographic Journeys at Istanbul Modern and Metrohan
Looking to infuse some color into this grey and rainy Istanbul weekend? Photographer İzzet Keribar’s solo exhibition provides a transporting fix. His early black-and-white works from 1950s Istanbul strike a lot of Ara Güler-like chords but are enriched by being paired with contemporaneous color work from South Korea, with Keribar capturing both countries at a time when they were poised on the brink of rapid urbanization. The rest of the globe-trotting exhibition pops with bold color. Though some images fall into travel-photography cliche, the best skillfully employ strong color contrasts, striking visual patterns, and perfectly placed figures to create memorable compositions that allow the viewer to see a scene with new eyes. The artist provides comments on some works in narration available online in both Turkish and English.
Similarly spanning the globe, photographer Ziya Tacir’s images are lonelier and stranger, with an emphasis on abandoned or derelict spaces. The artist employs lighting and camera angles in a way that make places both familiar and far-flung seem somewhat surreal and the people populating them perpetually out of place.
İzzet Keribar: Journey of Colors is at Istanbul Modern (Tophane Iskele Caddesi No:1, Beyoğlu) until 25 May; open Tue-Sun 10am-6pm, Fri until 8pm; admission 450 TL to 750 TL.
Ziya Tacir: Sound and Silence is at Metrohan (Tünel Square, Erkanı Harp Sokak No:2, Beyoğlu) until 31 August; open Tue-Sun 10am-6pm; free admission.
Hit the Road 🚗
ANKARA: Painter Ahu Akgün’s moody, sensitive portraits always catch my eye. Her solo exhibition Pretending to Be Alive is at Galeri Nev (Kırlangıç Sokak No:24/A, Gaziosmanpaşa; open Tue-Sat 10am-6pm) until 4 June.
ANTALYA: The Akra Jazz Festival offers contemporary jazz, funk, rock, Latin, soul, pop and world music at an open-air venue until 31 May. Highlights include concerts by Lebanese trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf, American guitarist Charlie Hunter, and Turkish pianist Fazıl Say. Akra Hotel, Lara Caddesi No:24, Muratpaşa.
İZMİR: Arkas Sanat Alaçatı opens its new season on 29 May with the group exhibition Staged, which grapples with the climate crisis, featuring a strong roster of artists including Ahmet Doğu İpek, Burçak Bingöl, Murat Germen, Nancy Atakan, Nermin Er, Sibel Horada, and Silva Bingaz. 12500 Sokak No: 2 Alaçatı, Çeşme; open Tue-Sun 10am-6pm.
MARDIN: Fiery feminist artist CANAN’s mythology-infused work is featured at the Arura Hotel (Yemişler Sokak No:11) in her solo show Our Souls Fly Like Butterflies until 31 October.
Don’t Miss Out
Summer festival and concert season is almost upon us! Make sure you don’t miss out on any upcoming arts and culture events by getting access to my full Google Calendar (see preview above), available only to paid subscribers of Istanbul etc.
Paid subscriptions are essential for allowing me to devote the time to research and write this independent, reader-supported newsletter. Paid subscribers also get access to subscriber-only chat with updates and bonus event photos and information; and other extras to be introduced soon. If you can’t afford to subscribe (don’t worry, I feel you…), why not share it with someone else who might be interested? Thanks for your support 🙏🏻
Cultural News in Brief
Early this month, Turkey bid farewell to veteran politician Sırrı Süreyya Önder, who died on 3 May. ArtDog remembers his “life intertwined with art and politics.”
The Turkish pavilion at the 19th Venice Biennale of Architecture opened with the theme of Grounded, “a project inspired by the sensual and cyclical nature of soil.”
Sanatorium gallery in Istanbul is opening a new space (Abdussalah Sokak No:3, Karaköy, Beyoğlu) on 23 May with Kerem Ozan Bayraktar’s solo exhibition Check Valve.
The Sinematek Cinema House in Kadıköy features the work of Soviet film director Andrey Tarkovski in its latest program, with classics such as Stalker, Solaris, Ivan’s Childhood, and Andrei Rublev screening with both English and Turkish subtitles.
Istanbul museums marking International Museum Day with free admission include the İş Bankası Painting and Sculpture Museum (free 17 to 25 May); Borusan Contemporary (free 18 May); Sakıp Sabancı Museum (free 18 May); Istanbul Painting and Sculpture Museum (free and open until 8pm on 18 May); Pera Museum (free from 7pm to midnight on 17 May); and the İBB-run Basilica Cistern/Yerebatan Sarnıcı, Miniatürk, Theodosius Cistern/Şerefiye Sarnıcı, Panorama 1453 History Museum, and Digital Experience Museum (all free from 9am to 2pm only on 18 May). Credit to muzesergist for the list.
Recommended Reads etc 📚 🎧
Kurdish Drum Makers Keep the Art of the ‘Daf’ Alive – In eastern Turkey, two high school friends taught themselves how to make the daf, a shallow drum popular in Kurdish, Persian, and Middle Eastern music. Their brand, Elefra Percussion, is a way to preserve a crucial part of Kurdish musical heritage. by Durrie Bouscaren for The World.
In Turkey, Protest Sounds Like a Rock Song – Chanted in the streets and streamed by millions, the Turkish rock band Duman's cryptic new track "Kufi" has become the anthem of a movement without naming one. by Eda Uysen for Rolling Stone.
Hagia Sophia Restoration to Protect 1,500-year-old UNESCO ‘Masterpiece’ – Istanbul landmark’s most extensive works in years will include efforts to prevent earthquake damage. by Ruth Michaelson for The Guardian.
Overcoming the Deep Roots of Byzantine Orientalism – A new book masterfully lays out the history of the Eastern Roman Empire and its legacies. by Luka Ivan Jukić for New Lines Magazine.
For anyone in or near Rotterdam, this week is your last chance to catch a wonderful exhibition by photographer Çiğdem Yüksel, whose work aims to restore migrant women from Turkey to their rightful place in Dutch history. "If only you knew" is at the Nederlands Fotomuseum until 23 May, with an accompanying book available online in English, Turkish, or Dutch. ICYM my last newsletter on Yüksel’s show, here it is again:
Untold Stories, Unseen Lives
Photographer Çiğdem Yüksel grew up with what she calls "very stereotyped images" of people who looked like her grandmother, part of the first generation of women from Turkey to migrate to the Netherlan…