Port

28 January - 4 June 2017 Istanbul Modern

Istanbul Modern, operating in a warehouse converted into a modern museum building in the Salıpazarı port area known as Istanbul Port, presents a new exhibition exploring the port theme from multiple perspectives. Examining port regions as spaces of social and economic interaction beyond being merely a geographical location, the exhibition reflects their representations in visual arts and addresses the symbolic and metaphorical dimensions of the concept of "port." Emphasizing Istanbul's relationship with the sea and ports, "PORT" examines the cultural and social life that developed by the seaside and in port areas in Turkish art from the 19th century to the present. Prepared through curatorial research in Turkish maritime culture, social history and visual arts, the exhibition also presents a timeline. The timeline, which summarizes Istanbul's history through its ports from archaeological studies on the Theodosius (Yenikapı) Port to the present, points to major transformations and ruptures in the city's relationship with the sea and ports. The "PORT" exhibition catalogue, in addition to texts explaining the conceptual framework of the exhibition from the curators' pens, presents texts, quotations, photographs and visuals related to the artists and works in the exhibition. The catalogue in Turkish and English also features an article by Prof. Dr. Murat Güvenç, Director of the Istanbul Studies Application and Research Center at Kadir Has University, who examined the transformation of Istanbul ports during the modernization process, and provides consultation on the timeline. The boat named Baştarda, designed within the scope of the "Darzanà: Two Shipyards, One Means" project prepared for the Turkish Pavilion at the Venice Biennale 15th International Architecture Exhibition and produced in the Golden Horn shipyard, is rebuilt in the museum garden and meets visitors within the scope of the "PORT" exhibition.

Artists:

Nevin Aladağ, Meriç Algün Ringborg, Hüseyin B. Alptekin, Avni Arbaş, Volkan Aslan, Turgut Atalay, Antonio Cosentino, Darzanà (Feride Çiçekoğlu, Mehmet Kütükçüoğlu, Ertuğ Uçar), Hasan Deniz, Cevat Dereli, Abidin Dino, Burhan Doğançay, Feyhaman Duran, Mıgırdiç Givanian, Ara Güler, Nedim Günsür, Nuri İyem, Özer Kabaş, Borga Kantürk, Gülsün Karamustafa, Volkan Kızıltunç, Muhsin Kut, Mıgırdiç Melkon, Yasemin Özcan, Serkan Özkaya, Sébah & Joaillier, Arslan Sükan, Hüsnü Tengüz, Cemal Tollu, Selim Turan, Ömer Uluç, Xurban_Collective (Güven İncirlioğlu, Hakan Topal), Mümtaz Yener, Fausto Zonaro Curators: Çelenk Bafra, Levent Çalıkoğlu Assistant Curators: Aslı Can, Senem R. Kantarcı