“Your Thursday” Artist Meetings: Conversation with Cengiz Tekin and Erkan Özgen: On Art, the City, and Everyday Life

“Your Thursday” Artist Meetings

Istanbul Modern opens its doors free of charge on museum days called “Your Thursday” with the sponsorship of Paribu. Every Thursday, between 10.00 and 14.00, the museum welcomes all its visitors residing in Türkiye with free admission. Visitors can explore all the exhibitions at Istanbul Modern and participate in artist workshops, events, and film screenings held once a month.

“Your Thursday” Artist Meetings include workshop sessions and discussions where artists share their creative processes and artistic experiences with participants. Through these activities, Istanbul Modern invites visitors to discover the museum, artworks, and artistic production processes, while allowing them to enrich their experience by creating together with artists.

Conversation with Cengiz Tekin and Erkan Özgen: On Art, the City, and Everyday Life

For many years, Cengiz Tekin and Erkan Özgen have developed their artistic practices in dialogue with the social, cultural, and political realities of the geography in which they live. Although they have pursued distinct artistic approaches, the city, memory, everyday life, and encounters occupy a significant place in the work of both artists. Together, they founded “Loading,” a meeting point where art exists not only as something to be exhibited, but also as a space for discussion, production, and collective reflection.

In this conversation, the artists explore the opportunities and challenges of running an independent art space in Diyarbakır; the relationship between art and everyday life; the experience of the city; the meaning of collaboration and solidarity; and the ongoing transformation of the cultural sphere.

Audiences are invited to join a conversation that reflects on what art can change, how a space can become a site of encounter, how a city shapes its inhabitants, and how these experiences are translated into artistic production – a discussion driven less by definitive answers than by questions, and more by processes than conclusions.

Date: June 25, 2026

Time: 13.00–14.30

Venue: Istanbul Modern Event Room 2

Duration: 90 mins

The event is free of charge.

The program is held in Turkish.