08.04.2021
ALİ SALTAN WINS THE LEE AWARD AT
OFF BRATISLAVA

Ali Saltan wins the Lee Award at OFF Bratislava 2021 with his series 'Araf'. Upon the decision of an expert four‑member jury, the LEE Award is given to an artist for a progressive and inventive work in the field of photography and new media. Together with the LEE Award, an original piece by the ceramist Simona Janišová, Saltan received a 5000 Euro prize.

20.10.2021
CANSU YILDIRAN'S 'THE DISPOSSESSED'
IS AT BILSART

Bilsart is hosting Cansu Yıldıran’s exhibition entitled 'The Dispossessed' between 20-30 October curated by Melike Bayık. In the Black Sea region of Turkey, settlements are mostly in the highlands and while men can own properties in these highlands, women can not. ‘The Dispossessed’ started from this point. As a person against ownership, the fact that the right to own or not own property was taken from being a choice, and turned into an obligation, forced Yıldıran to focus on this subject. And, they went to the highland where they were born, not as a guest but as a storyteller. ‘The Dispossessed’ is the search for the voice of themselves, of their mother and of the Highland women.

19.10.2021
OĞULCAN ARSLAN IS AT MAMUT ART PROJECT 2021

Oğulcan Arslan is among the selected artists of Mamut Art Project 2021 which will take place between 19-31 October, 2021. Mamut Art Project 2021 is the biggest art event and first fair in Turkey dedicated to providing a dynamic platform for independent & emerging artists since 2013. Arslan will be exhibiting his series 'Put on my Geneva Armour', in which a foggy turquoise color predominates and are like pages torn from his diary and put together. As Arslan explains, each photograph represents a letter, a word, and sometimes a punctuation mark; therefore, the diptych, triptych and single photographs we encounter are also open to be read as texts.

09.10.2021
ATEŞ ALPAR ARE EXHIBITING IN
'WHEN NOTHING HAPPENS'

Ateş Alpar are exhibiting a video entitled 'The things we carry' as part of the exhibition 'When nothing happens' between 9-24 October at Çatı Art Space, İzmir. The video draws attention to what the silenced carry, and aims to make the ordinary visible again. Alpar bring us eye to eye with those whose voice we do not hear even though they speak. 'When Nothing Happens', the contemporary art project by Yellow Submarine Art Initiative departs from Georges Perec’s question “What Happens When Nothing Happens?”. By bringing together independent artists from different disciplines, it takes a closer look at the system that feeds daily life, the ordinary, and the things we’ve never thought about, through the testimonies of the artists, their transfer of experience or their intuitive production.​ ceased to amaze us.

06.10.2021
ELÇİN ACUN'S 'ALLEGORY OF A DREAM'
IS AT BILSART

Bilsart is hosting Elçin Acun’s exhibition entitled 'Allegory Of A Dream' between 7-16 October. In this video installation, curated by Melike Bayık, transparent body images, which are caught between visibility and invisibility, aim to occupy the masculine public space with illusions wandering silently and recklessly in various urban spaces. These body images explore the limits of possibly existing as a dream in reality. They rehearse a dream where a queer and feminist possibility has taken over.

24.09.2021
ALTAY TUZ AND CI DEMI ARE SHORTLISTED FOR 212 PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION

Altay Tuz and Ci Demi are among the 10 photographers shortlisted for the 212 Photography Competition. The works of the 10 artists will be exhibited during 212 Photography İstanbul which will take place from 1-11 October 2021, along a special route of 7 spots throughout Istanbul where every venue tells a different story…

09.07.2021
OĞULCAN ARSLAN IS AMONG THE
FRESH TALENTS 2021

Oğulcan Arslan is selected as one of the Fresh Talents 2021. Powered by GUP Magazine, the jury has selected 150 emerging talents from across the European continent from a diverse array of backgrounds — freshly graduated photography students and autodidactic photographers among them — all of whom are making their first foray into the exciting world that is photography. The Fresh Eyes 2021 book launch took place at Keilepand Rotterdam between July, 1-4.

05.07.2021
EKİN ÇEKİÇ AND ERDEM VAROL ARE IN RHYTHM SECTION SALON BINÄR

Rhythm Section Salon Binär is a digital gallery in public space that gives artists the opportunity to be seen and invites viewers to participate in the development of digital art. Rhythm Section Salon Binär aims to make art visible to visitors by displaying works on 1800 screens in the public urban spaces of Munich between July 5-7, 2021. The digital gallery is curated by Ezgi Bakçay and Karin Wimmer, and showcases works by 11 artists. 

28.06.2021
CANSU YILDIRAN ARE ONE OF THE WINNERS OF THE ALL OUT & MTV
PHOTO AWARD

Cansu Yıldıran are announced as the winner of the Resisting category of the first-ever All Out & MTV Photo Award with their photo of Rukan and Hejar, two Kurdish and LGBT+ activists kissing at a Women's Day protest in Kadıköy on March 6, 2021. Over 1,800 photos by more than 380 photographers from over 60 countries were submitted to the award. The winning photos are displayed on the ViacomCBS screens in Times Square, New York City during Pride celebrations. They will also be featured at World Pride Copenhagen and at exhibition spaces across the world.

26.06.2021
ERDEM VAROL IN 'SLEEPER IN METROPOLIS'

Erdem Varol is among the artists of the 'Sleeper in Metropolis' virtual exhibition of Siilk Gallery. The exhibition curated by Daniel Peace & Nicole Oike is the 3rd virtual exhibition of Siilk Gallery bringing audiences and artists together digitally, online, to help promote and expand the exposure of artists' works they love from around the globe. The title borrows its name from a song by the 80’s artist Anne Clark which is a track about being present but not active throughout changes that are out of people's control.

You can visit the exhibition here

10.06.2021
CANSU YILDIRAN IN 'SAFER SPACE'

Cansu Yıldıran are exhibiting in 'Safer Space' curated by Ciwan Veysel at Villa Vida Cafe (Vienna) as part of the Transition International Queer & Minorities Film Festival from June 4th till July 11th. Veysel elaborates the goal of 'Safer Space' as creating a remote network of solidarity between especially trans and lgbtiqa+ individuals in Turkey and Vienna in memory of the ‘transgender day of remembrance’, and also using art as a tool making those struggles visible and using art as a defense mechanism against any discrimination.

27.09.2021
ATEŞ ALPAR, DAMLA ŞAHİNBAŞ AND ERDEM VAROL ARE IN 'COURAGE TO CARE'

Ateş Alpar, Damla Şahinbaş and Erdem Varol are exhibiting works in 'Courage to Care' that will take place at The Bar in Beyoğlu, İstanbul between 2-31 October, 2021. The curators Muhterem Semiz and M. Cevahir Akbaş state their intentions as follows: "When The Bar that devotes itself to protect Beyoğlu’s culture meets with the wish of our generation to collect memory, it becomes a way of unlimited communication. In this atmosphere where we can express ourselves, we bring together our own stories. With the strength we get from being together we present the artworks of what we feel and care about in a poster exhibition." 

05.06.2021
ALTAY TUZ IN 'STRANGERHOOD'

Altay Tuz is exhibiting some works from his series 'Members Only' in the framework of 'STRANGERHOOD' which invites cultural practitioners from diverse frameworks to perform interventions in the venue, Restaurant Porte St-Denis, Paris, in an attempt to explore the public spaces of encounter as the visual space of the political. The exhibition is curated by Alara Villa & Ayşe Ertung and will take place between June 17th till July 8th.

21.05.2021

A REVIEW ON OĞULCAN ARSLAN'S BOOK 'ALL THE RIVERS FLOW IN THE NUTHOUSE' IS ON GUP

GUP Magazine published a review by Sophie Beerens on Oğulcan Arslan's ‘All The Rivers Flow in the Nuthouse’ which was published by Origini Edizioni in 2020. “Arslan’s intimate project, with his friend at the center, becomes a memento for that which has been lost, and all of the feelings that come with this sense of loss: dejection, pain, melancholy, nostalgia, but also recollections of joy and innocence, small moments of abandon and spontaneity, and other emotions too sharp to formalize into words.“ 

Read the full article here

10.06.2021
ERDEM VAROL'S NEW BOOK
'DOLANA DOLAŞA' IS OUT

Erdem Varol's 'Dolana Dolaşa' (Tangle and Meander) is the first title in the multi-volume publication project Tefrika İstanbul by Onagöre from İstanbul, on İstanbul, produced in İstanbul. Erdem Varol contributes a drift through streets of old and contemporary districts of İstanbul. 

Tefrika İstanbul is planned to be published as 7 episodes and an extra page is incorporated into the design of each title to enable binding the different volumes together. 

You can order the book here

28.04.2021

İREM SÖZEN AND OĞUZ KARAKÜTÜK ARE SELECTED FOR THE 'RETHINKING NATURE' SLIDE SHOW

İrem Sözen and Oğuz Karakütük are selected for the 'Rethinking Nature' slide show which will be premiered during the European Month of Photography in Luxembourg at the Casino Luxembourg and on view there during the whole festival period. 
The "Rethinking Nature" slide show with a total length of 20 minutes assembles a large variety of points of view on nature that illustrate, filter, and analyse the present ambiguity of our vision - part sentimental dwelling in nostalgic contemplation, part illustration of destruction and exploitation of the environment.
Second venue of "Rethinking Nature" will be during Imago Lisboa at Carpintarias de São Lázaro in October 1-31, 2021. And finally will be screened in Vienna at the festival center of FOTO WIEN from March 9 to March 27, 2022.

15.04.2021

EKİN ÖZBİÇER TALKS ABOUT HER PRACTICE ON 212 STUDIO

Ekin Özbiçer is the guest of '10 Questions' on 212 Studio's Youtube channel. She answers questions about her practice, how she started photography and her series 'Slavia', 'Blue Flag' and 'Replica'. Özbiçer also talks about her latest project 'hurriyetemlakbulues' which is an instagram account of found images depicting the curious taste of Turkish interior design, sorted out from popular real estate portals.

15.04.2021

CANSU YILDIRAN ARE SHORTLISTED FOR PHMUSEUM 2021 PHOTOGRAPHY GRANT

Cansu Yıldıran received a New Generation Prize Honorable Mention in PHMuseum 2021 Photography Grant with their work 'Fathom'. Being among the awarded projects, their work will be screened at Lagos Photo Festival 2021, Verzasca Photo 2021, and Jakarta International Photo Festival 2021.

13.04.2021

CANSU YILDIRAN ON BJP

Cansu Yıldıran talk to Tom Seymour about their latest project 'Fathom' and their art. 

"Fathom is an exploration of what it means to be queer for Yıldıran. Deep within, an attempt to visualise the fabric of who they are. It’s the work of someone pushing through a forest at night, unafraid to push further – even when it might be easier to turn back."

Read the full article here

08.04.2021

ALİ SALTAN IS AMONG THE FINALISTS OF LENS CULTURE PORTRAIT AWARDS 2021

Ali Saltan is listed among the finalists of this year's Lens Culture Portrait Aards with his portrait of the Afghan refugee Zohreh from his series 'Araf'. The jury has selected 38 winners, jurors’ picks and finalists from 19 countries.

01.05.2021

OĞULCAN ARSLAN IS SELECTED FOR THE HELSINKI PHOTO FESTIVAL 2021

Oğulcan Arslan is selected for the main programme of Helsinki Photo Festival 2021 with his work 'All the Rivers Flow in the Nuthouse'. The festival received 428 applications from 55 countries for the open call with the theme Fearless. The award winning 50 photographers will be exhibited at various outdoor exhibition sites around the Greater Helsinki area. During 12 weeks exhibition sites will open to the public by July 7, while a few will start later and run until September 30. 

02.04.2021

CANSU YILDIRAN ON GUP

Cansu Yıldıran talk to Sophie Beerens about their project 'The Dispossessed'. 

"In photographing the women of her ancestral homeland, Yıldıran forms a renewed intimacy with her roots, reconciling the sense of dispossession that she came to understand as her escape. Her current work in progress, 'My Lost Motherland Pontos', suggests that she has only just begun the journey into the source of her identity."

Read the full article here

16.03.2021

İREM SÖZEN IS SELECTED FOR THE BERLIN SENATE RESIDENCY PROGRAM

İrem Sözen is selected as one of the 2 artists for the 2021-2022 period of Berlin Senate Residency Program which promotes cultural exchange and supports the artistic development of professional artists as a component of the active sister city relations between Berlin and Istanbul. Throughout the residency, Sözen will develop her project 'Album of remarks' that she started in zoos and botanical gardens in Berlin, extending it spatially and continuing her research on the historical and philosophical foundations of these structures.

21.02.2021

ALTAY TUZ AT WESTWERK RESIDENCY

During his residency at Westwerk, between January-March 2021, Tuz continued to work on his project 'Members Only' which focuses on the coffeehouses where guest workers from Turkey spend their free time. Tuz presented an installation of his work 'Members Only' as part of CoronaVision II at Westwerk between the dates 21-27 February. CoronaVision is a series of exhibitions in which Westwerk's artists show their work in the shop window.