What's on in Istanbul (25 August 2024)
A regular roundup of selected art and cultural offerings
This hot, sticky summer feels like it’s going to keep on sweltering forever, but the autumn art season is right around the corner, with many galleries and museums currently mid-installation for their upcoming new shows. If you haven’t already subscribed to this newsletter, now is a great time – there will be lots to keep track of in the cultural scene come September.
Solo Botter: Nuri İyem
Dubbing themselves “The New Ones” (Yeniler), a group of artists came together in 1940 around a shared commitment to a social realist style of painting, finding inspiration in the lives of rural peasants and the urban working class. Among them was Nuri İyem (1915-2005), whose work is currently featured in a small but poignant solo show. His 1976 tableau “Gecekondu Yapanlar” (above) stands out for its depiction of new migrants to (presumably) Istanbul industriously building their own home, as do a series of portraits that evoke an Anatolian “American Gothic” but are tenderly titled “Ordinary Loves.” Quotes from the artist add depth to the presentation, especially an emotional reflection on his older sister, whose face he sought to reconnect with through art for decades after her tragic death.
Exhibition runs until 29 August « LAST CHANCE
Casa Botter
İstiklal Caddesi No:235, Beyoğlu
free; open Tue-Sun 10am-7pm
Picturing İstanbul
Too hot to even contemplate wandering around the city? The İş Bankası Painting and Sculpture Museum offers a tour around the historic parts of İstanbul with a collection of works depicting neighborhoods on both sides of the Bosphorus on its 2nd and 3rd floors. There’s nothing very artistically adventurous or intellectually challenging here, just lovely landscapes. The permanent collection on the upper floors is similarly pleasantly anodyne, tracing the development of modern Turkish painting through folk scenes into abstraction. There’s a small cafe and gift shop on the entrance floor.
Exhibition runs until 29 August « LAST CHANCE
İş Bankası Painting and Sculpture Museum
İstiklal Caddesi No:144, Beyoğlu
Admission 50-100 TL; open Tue-Fri 10am-7pm, Sat-Sun noon-7pm
Music, Movies, and More 📽 🎻
Habitat Live (to 8 September) – Outdoor concerts in Şişli Habitat Park (near Maçka Park) include the multicultural jazz ensemble No Land (28 August), Barcelona-based Latin-electronic music group La Sra. Tomasa (5 September), and British roots and soul singer Teshay Makeda (6 September). Tickets cost 50TL-150TL and help support the Şişli Municipality’s programs to help street animals, new moms, and others in need.
Kalamış Summer Festival (to 8 September) – The Kalamış Yaz Festivali continues with a screening of the Hollywood classic From Here to Eternity (1 September), a performance by the Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra (6 September), and other open-air music and cinema events. Tickets are 100 TL per event with an option to donate an extra 100 TL to support the care of street animals. The festival area includes food trucks and beer stands.
Istanbul Yacht Club Open-Air Cinema – The eclectic lineup of movie nights at the Istanbul Yacht Club in Fenerbahçe includes The Boy and the Heron, Terminator 2, Moulin Rouge, and The Godfather Parts I and II. Tickets 300 TL, films are screened in their original language with Turkish subtitles.
Picnic in the parks – The community platform Yabangee has been organizing potluck picnics through the summer; the next ones are on 1 September on the Moda seaside and 15 September in Maçka Park in Şişli. DM them for details.
Cultural News in Brief 🗞
After announcing in the spring that foreign residents of Turkey would no longer be able to purchase discounted museum cards (MüzeKart), the Culture Ministry has introduced a new “MüzeKart’99” available to foreigners with residence or work permits. It costs 500 TL (as opposed to 60 TL for Turkish citizens) but is still a good deal if you plan to visit more than a few of the 350-odd museums and archaeological sites it covers around the country within the card’s one-year validity period. The ticket booth at the İstanbul Archaeological Museums seems to be the main sales point in the city, at least for the time being.
Recommended Reads 📚
Celebrate Women in Translation Month with these five novels by Turkish women writers available in English translation, recommended by literary pal Peter Cherry.
See the Historic Ruins Hidden Inside Everyday Buildings in Athens – Houses and businesses across the Greek capital incorporate—or obscure—structures spanning the city’s ancient, Byzantine, medieval and Ottoman eras. by Demetrios Ioannou for Smithsonian.
Preserving Iraqi Memories Through Immersive Virtual Reality – Basil Al-Rawi’s ‘House of Memory’ allows the diaspora to share personal stories and reclaim their cultural heritage. by Christin El-Kholy for New Lines.
Postcard from Istanbul: The new publishing house building a Turkish-Arab bridge – Bab El Amud's founders seek to bring readers of Arabic and Turkish closer by translating works between the languages. by Lizzie Porter for The National.
Life Along Istanbul’s Byzantine Walls, a Review – Former Istanbul-based journalist Alexander Christie-Miller’s new book To the City: Life and Death Along the Ancient Walls of Istanbul is “a sober inquiry into the violence of the past, both recent and distant,” Arie Amaya-Akkermans writes for The Markaz Review.
Every column that you post, every piece of yours I see, just makes me yearn to return yet again to Istanbul. The appeal starts with a strong subject, of course, but it works because of a keen eye, gracious prose, and an a continually compelling point of view. Thanks from a grateful subscriber.