On the initiation of the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV) and with the gracious contribution of 21 supporters, Turkey obtains a long-term venue in the Venice Biennale, one of world’s leading contemporary art and architecture events. The allotment of 20 years (from 2014 to 2034) at Arsenale, one of the two main venues of the event, will allow the Pavilion of Turkey to take part for the first time this year in the International architecture Exhibition, la Biennale di Venezia.
In its debut year in 2014, the Pavilion of Turkey at the 14th International Architecture Exhibition of la Biennale di Venezia that will run from 7 June through to 23 November will present the project Places of Memory, performed by the curator Murat Tabanlıoğlu, the project coordinator Pelin Derviş and a team of exhibitors.
Places of Memory will be the first project to be presented in Turkey’s recently secured venue for 20 years in Arsenale, one of the two main venues of the event. The Pavilion of Turkey is coordinated by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts, co-sponsored by Schüco Turkey and VitrA, and realised with the contribution of the Promotion Fund of the Turkish Prime Ministry, under the auspices of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Republic of Turkey.
The details of the Pavilion of Turkey at the 14th International Architecture Exhibition of la Biennale di Venezia were revealed at a press meeting on Monday, 10 March at Salon located at İKSV headquarters. Curator Murat Tabanlıoğlu, project coordinator Pelin Derviş and the exhibitors Ali Taptık, Alper Derinboğaz, Candaş Şişman, Metehan Özcan and Serkan Taycan gave detailed information about the project.
İKSV Chairman Bülent Eczacıbaşı, Schüco Turkey Advertisement Manager Zeynep İnsel Muratoğlu and Executive Vice President, Eczacıbaşı Building Products Division Atalay Gümrah on behalf of VitrA also participated in the meeting and delivered speeches.
In his opening speech, İKSV Chairman Bülent Eczacıbaşı stated “İKSV has been implementing international projects since 2004 in order to introduce the world Turkey’s cultural and artistic assets. Within this scope, we have been organizing the Turkish Pavilion at the International Art Exhibition of la Biennale di Venezia since 2007. Up until today, Turkey did not have a long-term venue at la Biennale di Venezia. As a result of our efforts as İKSV and with the contributions of 21 supporters, Turkey will now have a long-term venue for the next 20 years. Consequently, we are glad to announce that Turkey will participate to the International Architecture Exhibition, along with the International Art Exhibition of la Biennale di Venezia.”
Schüco Turkey Advertisement Manager Zeynep İnsel Muratoğlu said “The main theme of the 14th International Architecture Exhibition of la Biennale di Venezia focuses on the ‘fundamentals of architecture.’ We are proud that our brand, which can be seen as part of these fundamentals of architecture with the systems it provides, is among the contributors of the biennale.”
Following the speeches, curator Murat Tabanlıoğlu explained the conceptual framework of the project Places of Memory, which attempts to explore the main theme of the biennial via perceptions and experiences. With an idea departing from three areas of Istanbul:
Taksim-Salıpazarı, Bâb-ı Âli and Büyükdere Boulevard, places that acted as thresholds during different stages of the curator’s life, the project will focus on the concept of place itself, incorporated with the subjective vision of every exhibitor in the team.