Conference programs primed to accompany Marina Abramovic's 'Flux' show
Performing artist Nezaket Ekici's speech will be the first event of the Flux conference program. (Courtesy of Sakıp Sabancı Museum)


Sabancı University’s Sakıp Sabancı Museum will host a conference program that will run throughout March as part of the exhibition "Flux." This will be the first exhibition in Turkey to be held by famous performing artist Marina Abramovic and the Marina Abramovic Institute, of which she is the founder.

The "Flux" conference program will start with a speech titled "Physical Training: Can Performance Be Learned? Can It Be Taught?" by performing artist Nezaket Ekici under the moderation of professor Ahu Antmen. During the speech, scheduled for 2 p.m. on March 7, Ekici will discuss how she grew inclined toward performing arts during her art education. She will also talk about the training she received from Marina Abramovic, her own experiences as an educator and how spirit and physical education for a performance artist are transferred to art.

The program will continue with two different speeches on Saturday, March 14. In her speech titled "From Body to Space: Topics and Concepts of Performance," scheduled for 2 p.m., associate professor Eser Selen will explore the concepts of body and space that are embedded in performance thought and contemporary art practice from a critical and feminist perspective.

Another panel titled "Vibrations: Technology, Experience and Performance" will be held at 4 p.m., moderated by the professor. The panel will feature audio and video group RAW and artists Erinç Seymen and Eda Sütunç as speakers. The event will address the concept of experience – which artists who produce in the visual, auditory and tactile fields often concentrate on – on the axis of the subjects of technology and performance.

The program will end with a speech titled "Contemporary Dance and Body Culture in Turkey" by associate professor Tuğçe Tuna at 5 p.m. on March 21. In her speech, Tuna will present an overview of contemporary dance history in Turkey after 1960 and will examine examples reflecting the effects of contemporary dance approaches by contemporary dance artists, instructors and choreographers on body culture and philosophy.

Participation in the conferences is free of cost with a museum ticket. English-Turkish simultaneous translation services will be provided.

The exhibition "Flux," supported by Akbank, can be visited at Sakıp Sabancı Museum and Akbank Sanat until April 26.