Stay with me: Artists´ Diaries from Istanbul

Ausstellungseröffnung
Gäste im Salon: Selda Asal, Isin Önol

"At a point, as we were just standing there, ‘something’ else began. We were on the streets. Side by side. We didn’t even know each other, but we were side by side. We were there. This was the hope itself. The spirit of solidarity, the challenge, standing side by side.... Then, nothing changed. We clammed up. ... Now, we are tired. Is it possible to remember this hope? We have to start somewhere.“ Selda Asal

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Die Ausstellung "Stay with me" versammelt Notiz- und Tagebücher von mehr als 60 Künstlerinnen und Künstlern, die im Zusammenhang mit ihren Erfahrungen während der Gezi-Park-Proteste 2013 in Istanbul entstanden sind.

Im Frühling des Jahres 2013 kam es in Istanbuls Gezi-Park zu Protesten gegen Pläne für dessen städtebauliche Zukunft. Die sich in den folgenden Wochen über den Taksim-Platz ausbreitende Welle von Demonstrationen erfasste das ganze Land. Die Menschen kamen in dezentraler Organisation auf über 5.000 Veranstaltungen zusammen und geschätzte 3.5 Millionen gingen auf die Straße. Die mit ungewöhnlicher Gewalt niedergeschlagenen Demonstrationen forderten damals 11 Tote und mehr als 8.000 Verletzte. Seit dem Sommer 2013 hat sich die innenpolitische Lage weiter verschärft. Ist es möglich, die Hoffnung von damals zu bewahren?

An den Exponaten der Ausstellung lassen sich die unterschiedlichsten Herangehensweisen ablesen, in denen eine Kunst der Selbstbehauptung sich realisiert: den singulären Zauber gemeinsamer Momente festhalten, das Bedrohende auf Papier bannen, sich an einen anderen Ort projizieren, Erlebtes durch Abstraktion erinnern.

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The exhibition "Stay with me" assembles notebooks and journals created by more than 60 artists in the context of experiences they had during the protests at Gezi Park in Istanbul in 2013.

In the spring of 2013, protests against urban planning measures for the square occurred at Gezi Park. During the following week, a wave of demonstrations spread over Taksim square and seized the whole country. People organized in a decentralized manner and gathered for more than 5,000 events, around 3.5 million took to the streets. The demonstrations which were suppressed using extraordinary amounts of violence left eleven dead and more than 8,000 injured. Since the summer of 2013, the inner political situation has continued to aggravate. Is it possible to keep the hope of the time alive?

The exhibits on show allow to discern the different approaches open to an art rooted in self-assertion: retaining the magic of shared moments, capturing the menace on paper, projecting oneself to a different place, remembering experiences through abstraction.
"Stay with me" was initiated by artist Selda Asal.

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Mit Beiträgen von/with contributions by: Ali Miharbi, Anti-Pop, Aslı Çavuşoğlu, Ata kam, Ayşe Küçük, Azra Deniz Okyay, Balca Ergener & Meltem Ahıska, Berkay Tuncay, Burçak Bingöl, Carla Mercedes Hihn, Ceren Oykut, Christine Kriegerowski, Çiğdem Hasanoğlu, Devrim Ck, Devrim Kadirbeyoğlu, Didem Erk, Eda Gecikmez, Ekin Saçlıoğlu, Elif Çelebi, Elmas Deniz, Endam Acar & Fırat Bingöl, Erdağ Aksel, Erhan Öze, Erdem Helvacıoğlu, Eser Selen, Fatma Belkıs, Fatma Çiftçi, Ferhat Özgür, Figen Aydıntaşbaş, Fulya Çetin, Genco Gülan, Gonca Sezer, Gökçe Süvari, Gökhan Deniz, Göksu Kunak, Gülçin Aksoy, Gül Kozacıoğlu, Gümüş Özdeş, Güneş Savaş & Eren Yemez, Güneş Terkol, Gözde İlkin, Hale Tenger, Hubert Sommerauer, İnci Furni, İpek Duben, Kınay Olcaytu, Melike Kılıç, Merve Çanakçı, Merve Şendil, Mischa Rescka, Murat Tosyalı, Nalan Yırtmaç, Nancy Atakan, Nazım Dikbaş, Neriman Polat, Nick Flood, Nurcan Gündoğan, Onur Ceritoğlu, Onur Gökmen, Özgür Atlagan & Bengi Güldoğan, Özgür Demirci, Özgür Erkök Moroder, Özge Enginöz, Rüçhan Şahinoğlu, Raziye Kubat, Sabine Küpher Büsch & Thomas Büsch, Seda Hepsev, Seçil Yersel, Sena Başöz, Senem Denli, Sevim Sancaktar, Sevil Tunaboylu, Sevgi Ortaç, Suat Öğüt, Sümer Sayın, Şafak Çatalbaş, Ulufer Çelik, Yaprak Kırdök, Yasemin Özcan, Yasemin Nur, Yavuz Parlar, Yeşim Ağaoğlu, Zeyno Pekünlü

‘Stay with me’ wurde von der Künstlerin Selda Asal initiiert.

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Selda Asal is a visual artist, born in Izmir. Studies in Musicology and Art. She initiated the „Apartment Project” in Istanbul and is currently living in Istanbul and Berlin.

Isin Önol is a writer and curator based in Vienna and New York. Over the past 5 years she has been working as an independent curator in Vienna and abroad. From 2006 until 2009, she worked with the Elgiz Museum of Contemporary Art, Istanbul, as its director and curator. Önol is an enthusiast producer of exhibition projects, talks, other art-related events as well as researching as an academician with a focus on the field of contemporary art and cultural studies.