Those who stay in Istanbul during Qurban Bayram (Eid al-Adha) and those who visit Istanbul can see Turkey's first modern and contemporary art museum Istanbul Modern's ongoing shows and programs.
"In Pursuit of the Present," presenting a new collection, which many art lovers will view for the first time, "The Event of a Thread: Global Narratives in Textile," featuring artists who use textile materials, and a photography exhibition, "Two Archives, One Selection: Tracing Ara Güler's footsteps in Istanbul" and "Artists' Films International" are welcoming the visitors at Istanbul Modern.
In Pursuit of the Present
Istanbul Modern focuses on human situations in today's world with its collection exhibition "In Pursuit of the Present." The exhibition, spanning two floors of the temporary space of Istanbul Modern, places today's person at the center of the exhibition. It brings together pieces of art that scrutinize the relationship of human with the city, nature and its own self in a historical, social and personal context. The paintings, sculptures, installations, videos and patterns by 33 artists in the exhibition are about the dynamics of the relationship between humans and their physical environments. Works by Murat Akagündüz, Rasim Aksan, Alaettin Aksoy, Deniz Aktaş, Peter Anders, Mehtap Baydu, Ramazan Bayrakoğlu, Sabri Berkel, Taner Ceylan, Adnan Çoker, Burhan Doğançay, İpek Duben, Olafur Eliasson, İnci Eviner, Mehmet Güleryüz, Balkan Naci İslimyeli, Hüsamettin Koçan, Azade Köker, Maro Michalakakos, Sarah Morris, Hans Op de Beeck, Angel Otero, Kemal Önsoy, İrfan Önürmen,Necla Rüzgar, Sarkis, Güneş Terkol, Canan Tolon, TUNCA, Ömer Uluç, Zhan Wang, Nil Yalter and Jerome Zonder will welcome art lovers in the exhibition.
Global Narratives in Textile
The exhibition "The Event of a Thread: Global Narratives in Textile" brings together works of international artists who use textile materials as a means for expression and will continue until Aug. 18.
The exhibition features more than 30 works by 11 artists from Turkey. While examining the artistic expressive diversity of textile materials artists, it questions historical, social and cultural meanings through the works of Belkıs Balpınar, Hussein Chalayan, Burhan Doğançay, Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu, Şakir Gökçebağ, Gözde İlkin, Gülsün Karamustafa, Servet Koçyiğit, İrfan Önürmen, Sabire Susuz, Ziya Tacir and the Harald Schmidt Archive.
Tracing Ara Güler's footsteps
Istanbul Modern, in collaboration with the Ara Güler Museum, traces the change that the city has undergone since the 1950s through the eyes of Ara Güler, who "wrote history with his camera." The "Two Archives, One Selection: Tracing Ara Güler's Footsteps in Istanbul" exhibition, consisting of works from both the institution's collection and archive, presents the transformation the city has undergone since the mid-20th century. It makes the role of Ara Güler's photographs visible in the formation of the collective memory resulting from this change.
Ara Güler's various works, which were printed at different periods, are accompanied by the mapping of his dark room, objects and ephemera photographs, the locations and angels of these photographs at Istanbul Modern Photography Collection and Ara Güler Museum's archive.
Artists' Film International
Istanbul Modern continues to host the Artists' Film International 2019 program containing videos, animations and short films by artists from different geographies around the world.
This year's program focuses on the reflections of different realities in gender, which constitute the totality of femininity and masculinity that arise from cultural views, belief systems and social expectations in society. Artist Senem Gökçe Oğultekin's video "Dun (Ev)" will be screened both at Istanbul Modern and also at the international partners of the program in 2019. The movies can be viewed until Aug. 18.