By Nazlan Ertan
“When Turkish politics become too repetitive, I turn to the country’s art scene,” a European diplomat told me three years ago.
“There is certainly more variety and more originality.” This year’s tension-wrought political rentrée, where debates revolved around “did they rise or did they not, for the president,”
somehow made me follow her advice: When politics go wrong, seek consolation in art and culture.
October is a great month to do so, when artists and pop-up exhibitions pack up their bags from coastal towns and return to the city.
You can still see the works of the brilliant young artists at the shiny and new arts center in Alaçatı, which is transformed from a sleepy fishing town to a 24/7 party hub until November. Still, you’d be better advised to drive to Izmir and see one of the most exceptional exhibitions of Joan Miro, the seminal figure in 20th-century avant-garde painting. Seventy-four of the Catalan artist’s exceptional works, curated by academician and art historian Robert Lubar Messeri, are on display in Arkas Art Center. Further down, Akın Pasajı, a repurposed wine house, boasts of a group exhibition displaying Turkey’s most renowned painters of the 20th century, plus two lithographs by Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali.
ART SEASON IN ISTANBUL
Istanbul, of course, also started its arts season with a splash. The largest event of the month is
arguably the exhibition of the full collection of Mustafa Taviloğlu, the founder of Turkish clothes line Mudo.
Taviloğlu, who has been gathering works by 19th and 20th-century Turkish and international artists for half a century, opens his impressive collection to the public free of charge.
More than 2,400 works by 940 artists are on display in seven different spots across Istanbul, including Feshane, a former military clothes factory that was repurposed as an art hub under Ekrem İmamoğlu. The collection includes important works of Mehmet Güleryüz, a painter and sculptor who passed away last September. Another event not to miss for coffeelovers is Coffee Festival at Ataköy Marina over the weekend.
ÇANAKKALE BIENNALE
Those who are ready for a drive may also visit the Çanakkale Biennale from Oct. 4 to Nov. 11. Art watchers may remember that the biennial had faced political and economic difficulties in the past but now seems to be back on its feet. This year’s edition is somewhat aptly titled
“Leave it to Time.”
In Ankara, TED University is holding its 7th Civilian Voices festival on Oct. 4-5. During the festival, one might meet a wide variety of groups, from animal rightists to women’s cooperatives to Romani and Mesopotamian groups.
