Following major projects in Dubai and London in 2013, The Moving Museum is launching its third and most ambitious iteration in Istanbul this year; establishing a major international residency programme lasting three months. From August to October, The Moving Museum will host 40 international artists including Hito Steyerl, Ben Shumacher, Jon Rafman, George Henry Longly, Ming Wong, Jumana Manna and Mai-Thu Perret, marking the largest coordinated influx of international resident artists in Istanbul’s recent memory. The project includes 12 artists from Turkey, including, Günes Terkol, Nilbar Güres, Volkan Aslan, and Aslı Çavusoglu that serve as the foundation to the period of intensive dialogue, featuring a curated public programme of events, talks, workshops, lectures, and performances.
Each artist has been commissioned to work on a local project aimed at making a lasting impact on the city, their artistic practices, as well as collaborating with artists and their host countries upon their return. The residency will culminate in a major comprehensive exhibition launching at the end of October, in an undisclosed location, as a means of articulating their experiences and practices within this new context.
The Moving Museum is transforming a 6000 square foot warehouse space operated by Near East into the residency headquarters during the three months. Based in Dolapdere, a ten minute walk from Taksim Square, the venue will be conceived by The Moving Museum and designed by internationally acclaimed local design studio Autoban. The think tank space will serve as a centre of public programming and dialogue, a shared workspace for artistic exchange, as well as the site of a major digital programme directed by artists Jeremy Bailey, Joe Hamilton and Jonas Lund aimed at expanding local conversations to international audiences.
For the Residency, The Moving Museum is also working with local architectural practice Sanal Arc to occupy the Caferiye Han on the Golden Horn. “A traditional ‘Han’ is a building complex manufacturing and selling items focused on specific industries, in this case, the textile industry. Within this Han is a retail unit selling policemans uniforms, another manufacturer of movie costumes, but Caferiye is only operating at 60% capacity. There’s a group of local architects and curators moving into the Han interested in reviving these disused spaces for local industries and creative economies. We are taking a number of the studios and a retail unit for Moving Museum artists within the complex for site specific projects. We think it will be an exciting opportunity to engage with the local community and utilize the amazing resources of the surrounding area and Grand Bazaar.” Said Founder and Director Aya Mousawi.
Founder and Director Simon Sakhai said: “During our research we found that the last major international residency programme discontinued a few years ago. We couldn’t believe that a city like Istanbul, with its rich cultural heritage, burgeoning art scene, and geopolitical significance no longer had this important cultural link to the rest of the world. So we developed a project to address this..”
Mousawi continues: “As a nomadic organization, we are constantly trying to find ways to make an impact that expands beyond the exhibition walls. Social interaction and community participation are a key strategy to meet this goal and so the idea of a residency is a great way to evolve our model. We hope this three-month period of intensive artistic activity and dialogue can make a meaningful contribution to a city undergoing a crucial period in its recent history.”
The Moving Museum is bringing together several collaborators that include international and local non-profit organisations, as well as international cultural partners who share its vision. Following lead support of The Moving Museum London, The Vinyl Factory, has come on board as a Founding Partner for The Moving Museum. Founder Mark Wadhwa said “The Vinyl Factory is expanding its cultural programme on an international level. We have a continued interest in culture across all disciplines but recognize that creative activity is a global phenomenon, with a shared impact in which we all benefit. We were delighted to continue our support of The Moving Museum as we believe in the continued vision of this young social enterprise and the artists it is collaborating with on the Istanbul project.”
A full list of participating
Residency Dates: 1 August - 31 October 2014
Exhibition Dates: 27 October - 15 December
No comments:
Post a Comment