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| The view from Galata Tower. |
Istanbul is a hive of activity this autumn, but the busiest region by far is Galata, which hosts the 9th International Istanbul Biennial curated by Charles Esche and Vasıf Kortun and the 'Galata Through the Ages' exhibition at the Ottoman Bank Museum.
A cultural curve
Since it would be impossible to complete a tour of these two events in one day, we recommend that you follow a ''cultural curve'' that sweeps through Taksim, along the Bosphorus shore and then back up to Galatasaray. This tour will take you to undiscovered corners of the city. Appropriately enough, the title of the biennial is 'Istanbul'.Our first stop is the Tobacco Warehouse in Tophane. This dilapidated 150-year-old structure has only been slightly restored, creating a unique exhibition space. Curator Vasıf Kortun explains that their aim was to avoid exotic and touristic settings, preferring locations that are part of everyday life.
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| Luca Frei's installation. |
Antrepo 5
From here, head to Antrepo 5, located a little further down the shore and right next to the Istanbul Modern. This year, fewer artists were invited to take part in the biennial than usual. Esche and Kortun focused on artists from the region before working outwards to Asia, Europe and beyond. In addition, there are a greater number of works that address political issues than in previous biennials.
Galata Through the Ages
From here, make your way to Bankalar Caddesi to visit the 'Galata Through the Ages' exhibition at the Ottoman Bank Museum curated by Ph.D. Professor Edhem Eldem. Galata's history stretches back some 2000 years, and it has always been autonomous region (officially or unofficially). Indeed, the area used to be surrounded by protective walls. Galata has long been the center of two vastly different sectors: the banking and prostitution. During the late Ottoman period, its European and non-Muslim residents were wealthy enough to lend money to the Ottoman state. One of the most interesting items on display is a comprehensive list of Galata's brothels dating back to 1922.
The Deniz Palas Apartments in Azapkapı
Another biennial venue, the Garanti Building, stands at the end of this street, which is known for its shops selling electrical goods. From here, the road up towards Şişhane will bring to the Deniz Palas Apartments, the most impressive biennial venue after the Tobacco Warehouse. This building is also 100-150 years old and has been left untouched. Silke Otto Knapp's works seem made for this setting, and Palestinian artist Khalil Rabah's work entitled The Palestinian Museum of Natural History and Humankind is definitely worth seeing. The next biennial venue on our path is the Bilsar Building, which brings us to the region known as Tünel. Tünel Square is filled with cafes and bars and the backstreets of Asmalımescit overflow with traditional meyhanes, fish restaurants, coffeehouses and restaurants selling homemade food. We decided to enjoy a bite to eat at Sofyalı Meyhane where we had stuffed chard and 'börek'. From there, we spent a few minutes relaxing in the stunning courtyard of Narmanlı Han before heading towards the Istiklal Caddesi thoroughfare. After spending a day surrounded by art and history, it was amazing to see just how little and how much the city has changed. We stopped for a break at the Markiz patisserie, a popular spot with writers in the 1900s. Over a cup of coffee and raspberry pastry, we gazed at the beautiful ceramic murals on Markiz's walls. Joining the crowd, we walked down the street to see our last biennial exhibition--a group of life size horses.
If you are the kind of person who avoids these kinds of events out of a fear of not understanding the art-indeed, if you turn this reluctance into a kind of rejection-don't pay any attention to seemingly complicated, inexplicable comments. They don't actually know anything either. The only difference is that they try to understand and to express this understanding. And isn't that the very essence of art?
| Helpful hints... |
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* Biennial venues: 1- Deniz Palas Apartments: Refik Saydam Cad: No: 191 Sishane. 2- Antrepo 5: Meclis-i Mebusan Cad. Liman İşletmeleri Sahası, Karakoy. 3- Tobacco Warehouse: Hendek Sok. No: 20, Tophane. 4- Bilsar Building: Mesrutiyet Cad. No: 164 Sishane-Beyoğlu. 5- Garanti Building: Bankalar Cad. Yanıkkapı Sok. No: 1-35. 6- Platform Garanti Contemporary Art Center: İstiklal Cad. No: 276 Beyoglu. 7-Garibaldi Building: İstikla Cad. Deva Cıkmazı No:2 Beyoglu. * Every Friday until October 30, Radikal will publish a biennial newspaper called ''2 yılda 1'' edited by Turkish curator Vasıf Kortun. * www.iksv.org/bienal * Ottoman Bank Museum: Bankalar (Voyvoda) Cad. No: 35/37, Karakoy. Tel: +90 212-334 22 70. |
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