Goethe-Institut, London. Courtesy Goethe Institut.
From the start of the project debate and discussion on the project themes has been of prime importance. Conferences are taking place alongside each of the three exhibitions and include speakers who are cultural critics from the three cities, artists and curators from the exhibition.
We are delighted to announce that the London Journeys With No Return conference will be produced in partnership with the International Curators Forum (ICF) and will be hosted by the Goethe-Institut, London.
The conference will be chaired by Dr Edgar Schmitz (Goldsmith College, London) and Lisa Le Feuvre (Writer and Curator).
Themes include how culture is transformed through migration, the influence of Turkish migration on contemporary practitioners and how we are building new cultural contexts in the 21st century city.
Confirmed speakers include Irit Rogoff, Professor of Visual Culture at Goldsmiths College, a theorist, curator and organiser, Dr. Mark Nash, Head of Department for Curating Contemporary Art, Royal College of Art and Andrew Brown, Senior Strategy Officer, Visual Arts, Arts Council England, Mehmet Ergen, Director, Arcola Theatre, Dr. Mehmet Ali Dikerdem, M/DProf Programme Leader, Middlesex University, artists from the exhibition including Adam Chodzko and Asli Sungu and the exhibition curators: Alice Sharp, Independent Curator, Levent Çalıkoğlu, Chief Curator, Istanbul Modern and Peter Cross, Independent Curator.
A limited number of tickets are available for bookings please phone the Goethe-Institut on 020 7596 4000. Tickets: £20 Concessions: £15.
Goethe-Institut London
50 Princes Gate
London, SW7 2PH
Akbank Cultural Centre, Istanbul. Courtesy Akbank.
On Saturday 12th September, the opening weekend of the 11th Istanbul Biennial, What Keeps Mankind Alive, The International Curators Forum (ICF) held a symposium with curators of the exhibition Journeys With No Return at the Akbank Sanat. ICF Director David A Bailey opened the discussion by contextualizing the project in the wider picture of current work being made by artists that addresses the phenomenon of migration, and then opened up the discussion to the panel. Artists Adam Chodzko and Zineb Sedira gave presentations about their work and how it has been affected by the experience of migration, either directly through personal knowledge or through project work with different individuals or groups. Curators Alice Sharp and Peter Cross both talked about the challenges and opportunities offered by working on such a far-reaching project, and how it would change in its future manifestations in London and Berlin. The panel answered questions from the floor, which included a discussion on how the project connected with the city and the current Istanbul Biennial. The panel ended with a general discussion including audience and panel members.
More information coming soon