Wednesday 4 May 2011

What's on: May. Free visits to museums!

Museums for free! You can visit Pera Museum for free from 7pm until midnight on 14 May. You can see the two new exhibitions, paintings by Ihsan Cemal Karaburçak and the fascinating project of Fundamentally Human: Neuroscience and Contemporary Art. Of course, there is no celebration without music, so there will be a live concert and DJs. Both exhibitions can be visited until 3 July. Celebrating Museums Week, Santralistanbul can also be visited free of charge between 18-24 May.


Coffee, anyone? Tired of paper cups and the same café chains anywhere you go? By the 16th century, Turks were already addicted to the fragrant coffee beans and took this passion with them to Europe. Objects of sophisticated coffee ceremonies are on display in Dolmabahçe palace’s re-opened Art Gallery until 14 June ('A Cup of Coffee in the Palace in Memory of Old Times', closed on Mondays and Thursdays).

Unique underwater photos are exhibited in the Basilica Cistern – where else? The pictures were taken of the submerged buildings of Halfeti. The small town at the Euphrates and neighbouring villages were flooded in 1999, after the dam at Birecik was constructed. (until 30 May)

While official Turkish-Armenian relations are still unsettled, individuals are trying to come to terms with history. Erhan Arık’s photographic journey in villages on both sides of the Turkish-Armenian borders is part of this process reflecting on the different aspects of pain experienced by the current inhabitants of these villages. Himself having grown up in a house that used to belong to an Armenian family, we can join him on a personal journey developing into a project with a wider perspective. The photos and the documentary can be visited until 5 June (‘Horovel’ at Tütün Deposu in Tophane). Antoine Agoudjian’s photo exhibition in the same gallery explores Armenian communities in different countries („Burning eyes: Memories of the Armenians” ).

If you preferred contemporary art, there are quite a few exhibitions to see in Istanbul in May.
The Elgiz Museum of Contemporary Art, the first private museum of contemporary art in Turkey is celebrating its 10th  anniversary with a series of temporary exhibitions. Between 3-14 May, photographs of Dennis Gun, the Berlin-based Turkish artist will be displayed. Exploring possibilities of digital media, Gun reflects on literature, Baroque and Renaissance paintings, religion or just contemplates everyday objects. The other ongoing exhibition, “Unbounded” showcases a collection of young Turkish artists exploring cultural and visual boundaries. The Museum is open from Wednesday to Saturday.

If you happen to be in Antalya and have kids with you, the 5th Antalya Sand Sculpture Festival promises good fun. Located at Lara Beach, you will see more than 100 sand sculptures (about 10 000 tonnes of sand!!!) made by 25 artists from 11 countries depicting scenes of Hollywood films. So you can meet Batman, E.T., see scenes from the Matrix or Stars Wars, just to name a few. There are special night time shows with light and sound effects. The exhibition is open during all summer, closing only on 14 November.

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