Archive – İstanbul Story

6Jul

By Mina ErtemNo Comments

Archive

5 Majors to Co-Product

FIVE MAJOR CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS IN TURKEY TO CO-PRODUCE THEATRE PRODUCTIONS Five leading institutions in the fields of arts and culture in Turkey, BKM, DasDas, ENKA Sanat, Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV) and Zorlu PSM joined their forces for a "Co-Production" project to provide support for new theatre productions in Turkey. Each institution will commit to the production of two plays, bringing 10 new productions into the contemporary theatre scene in Turkey. While five of the play scripts to be supported will be commissioned to playwrights determined by the selection committee, an open call will also be extended for the remaining five-play scripts. Support of 7,500 Turkish Liras will be provided to each playwright selected for the project. Applicat...

Filmekimi: Another Reason to Love October

29Sep

By Mina ErtemNo Comments

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Filmekimi: Another Reason to Love October

Organised by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV), Filmekimi’s 15th edition in Istanbul from 7-16 October. Filmekimi will be bringing cinephiles at several cities together with outstanding films. Filmekimi will once again present spectacular films which premiered at prestigious international film festivals and received numerous awards. Filmekimi’s 15th edition will feature the latest works of master directors such as Ken Loach, Asghar Farhadi, Jim Jarmusch, Park Chan-wook, Paul Verhoeven, Todd Solondz, and Pedro Almodovar, as well as young auteurs, and first-time directors. Filmekimi will be holding screenings at Istanbul’s various districts, such as Beyoğlu and Atlas in Beyoğlu, Rexx in Kadıköy and City’s Cinemaximum in Nişantaşı. This year Filmekimi will als...

3Sep

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Who is Inside You?

I am celebrating autumn and changing of weather and İstanbul Modern is hosting a new exhibition after MACK, that you shouldn’t miss at all: İnci Eviner Retrospective in İstanbul Modern, ‘’Who Is Inside You?’’. The beautiful ambiance of İstanbul Modern, right on the Bosphorus, helps you to get out of this heavy mood and enlightens you with Northern breeze, coming down from the Black Sea. Who is İnci Eviner by the way? Born in Polatlı, Ankara in 1956, Eviner, graduated from Fine Arts Academy in İstanbul in 1980 and opened her first solo exhibition in 1986. There is a really long list of her activities, exhibitions and artistic presence in this link: http://www.incieviner.net/en/cv.html But the best way to get to know her, is to go and visit this incredibly rich retrospective in I...

21Jul

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MACK: Just Light and Colour

We are living in strange days! Full of turmoil and disturbance. We don’t know what will happen next but we still have hope for peace and for a better future. If not for us, for our kids, for young souls living under the same sky, we want to stay strong and carry on. So with these feelings, on Sunday, me and my husband, had a lovely walk along the Bosphorus and visited Sabancı Museum, for an unexpectedly rich exhibition of German Modernist, Heinz Mack, JUST LIGHT AND COLOUR. Born in 1931, Heinz Mack, was one of the founders of international art network ZERO. He studied not only art at Düsseldorf Academy of Art but philosophy at University of Cologne too… I remember his name and fame from a very interesting exhibition I saw at Guggenheim Museum in New York in 2014. When his solo exh...

26Jun

By Mina ErtemNo Comments

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Istanbul Jazz Festival is Kicking Off

The 23rd Istanbul Jazz Festival, organised by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV) will be held on 27 June-25 July 2016. This year’s festival will once again host the pre-eminent figures of jazz and stars of contemporary music in different venues around Istanbul. Over 200 Turkish and international musicians will participate in the festival, with more than 50 concerts performed in 26 venues. The festival programme includes a range of jazz, funk, world music, blues and rock performances. The 23rd Istanbul Jazz Festival kicks off with a special project on Monday, 27 June. The creative member of Blur and Gorillaz, Damon Albarn, the conductor Issam Rafea, and The Orchestra of Syrian Musicians will inaugurate the festival on Monday, 27 June at 21.30 at Cemil Topuzlu Op...

Mario Prassinos: In Pursuit of an Artist

7Jun

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Mario Prassinos: In Pursuit of an Artist

I had a very fruitful weekend visiting museums and walking around the crowded streets of old Karaköy and Pera. My most important discovery, this weekend, was Mario Prassinos, an artist of Istanbul origin, born in 1916. Never heard of him before! What a surprise! Some details about him: Born into an artistic family of Greek-Italian origin in Pera, Mario Prassinos moved to Nanterre, France, with his family when he was six years old. He never received an academic art education but influenced by Surrealism, which was the popular art movement in Europe at that time, he started to express himself in painting in Surrealist style. Between 40s and 50s he had been worked on book illustrations, designing stage sets and costumes for the theatre. Through 60s he spent more time amidst nature in...

20May

By Mina ErtemNo Comments

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Here Comes the Istanbul Music Festival

A marathon full of music and Shakespeare is about to start. The 44th Istanbul Music Festival, organised by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV) will take place between June 1 – 24, 2016. The festival will present music lovers with an impressive programme built around this year’s theme inspired by Shakespeare’s verse, “If Music be the Food of Love, Play On”. I will cut to the chase and introduce the highlights of the festival. The 44th Istanbul Music Festival will host close to 600 local and international artists, including names like İdil Biret, Murray Perahia, Gautier Capuçon, Angel Blue, Gérard Caussé, Herbert Schuch, Patricia Petibon, Alice Sara Ott, Maria João Pires, Antonio Meneses, Maxim Vengerov, Richard Galliano, and Sylvain Luc, as well as some of the world’s lea...

İstanbul Theatre Festival is Back in Town

2May

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İstanbul Theatre Festival is Back in Town

It is that time of the year again! “The festival” is back in town! The 20th edition of the Istanbul Theatre Festival, organized by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV) will take place from 3 – 28 May 2016. The festival will once again offer theatergoers an extensive program, featuring a range of plays, dance shows, and performances from Turkey and abroad, as well as parallel events. I am very happy, curious, and can barely wait for the following week as İKSV organizes the theatre festival bi-annually. The festival performances and parallel events will take place in a wide range of venues across the city. The festival program also features a number of free talks, performances, symposiums, exhibitions, master classes and workshops with the participation of well-known guests...

24Apr

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Angry Panda in Galata

Last week I had a nice walk around Galata for a couple of hours. I have always loved that part of our city. When I was at school, I sometimes skipped classes and went there for a walk, dreaming about the past. Still doing it but this time there is no school to skip! Anyway, I am one of those who have a kind of ‘’love and hate’’ relationship with Istanbul. I had moments when I strongly wished for leaving her and move to another place. But she, Istanbul, always knew how to convince me to stay here and not to leave her. I had my ups and downs in this bloody relationship. But here is my last word: I am staying here forever! Well, I am writing this, because it was one of those spiritually bumpy days when I had my little walk in Galata, and came across with these guys, smoking their cig...