Contemporary Istanbul turns 20 |
Welcome to Al-Monitor Istanbul.
Quite the coincidence: The week President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made his long-awaited visit to the White House, we bring you an issue that focuses on the United States. Contemporary Istanbul marks its 20th edition with “Focus: America,” and we move from an American diner in Besiktas to a rose-tinted Turkish series set in New York, closing with Turkey-US ties in numbers. Along the way, İstanbul hosts the Gaza Biennial in parallel to its own, reminding us that art and politics meet in Istanbul’s streets as much as in Washington’s.
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Thanks for reading,
Nazlan (@NazlanEr on X)
P.S. Have tips on Istanbul’s culture scene? Send them my way at nertan@al-monitor.com.
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1. Leading the week: America, America
Judy Chicago featuring Nadya Tolokonnikova"What if women ruled the world?," Participatory quilt 2023, Satin cotton installed with videos (Courtesy of Contemporary Istanbul)
Contemporary Istanbul (CI), turning 20 this year, has America in its focus. The highlights of the huge fair at the historical Tersane building are unmistakable: Bill Jensen’s austere abstractions; Elena Damiani’s “Unfoldings I-IV,” hand-carved Rumi travertine blocks in copper and steel; and the curatorial centerpiece, Judy Chicago.........