In Conversation: Anda Rottenberg and Fulya Erdemci on Contemporary Art in Turkey and Poland

Istanbul Modern Cinema

Wednesday April 16, 2014

18.30-20.00

Istanbul Modern is bringing together Fulya Erdemci and Anda Rottenberg, two prominent curators, within the scope of the exhibition Neighbours to discuss the dynamics of the contemporary art scenes in Poland and Turkey.

The conversation between Fulya Erdemci, the curator of the 13^th Istanbul Biennial and Anda Rottenberg, the former director of the Zachęta National Gallery of Art, is organized within the scope of the 600th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between Poland and Turkey, in collaboration with the Adam Mickiewicz Institute.

Neighbours - Contemporary Narratives from Turkey and Beyond explores a vast geography extending from the Balkans to the Middle East and from the Caucasus to North Africa, reaching Poland in the West with the participation of Slavs and Tatars in the exhibition. Within the scope of the exhibition, the conversation aims to explore mutual and different dynamics in contemporary art practices in Poland and Turkey.

Curator, art historian, art critic and writer, Anda Rottenberg has been the director of the Zachęta National Art Gallery in Warsaw between 1993 and 2001. She founded several arts initiatives in Poland and has served as curator of Polish participation in many international exhibitions such as the Biennales in Venice (1993-2011), Gwangju (1995), and São Paulo (1994-2006). She has numerous publications including her seminal survey on Polish art, “Art in Poland 1945 – 2005”.

Fulya Erdemci is a curator and writer based in Istanbul and Amsterdam. She was the curator of the 13^th Istanbul Biennial in 2013 as well as the 2011 Pavilion of Turkey at the 54th International Art Exhibition, Venice Biennale. Between 2008 and 2012, she acted as director of SKOR Foundation For Art and Public Domain in Amsterdam. Fulya Erdemci was among the first directors of the Istanbul Biennial (1994-2000), was director of Proje 4L in Istanbul (2003-2004) and worked as temporary exhibitions curator at Istanbul Modern (2004-2005). Other curatorial projects include 2nd Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art, Moscow, 2007 and Scape Biennial of Art in Public Space, Christchurch, 2008 (co-curated with Danae Mossman).

The event is free of charge and will be held in English with simultaneous translation into Turkish.