More than a photography festival: 212 Photography Istanbul comes to town

212 Photography Istanbul is celebrating its third year, and will take place from October 8 to 18, 2020 at various locations around Turkey’s largest city. The five locations have been selected to allow Istanbulites and visitors to Istanbul to set them on a journey of discovery.

The festival is being held with the contributions of the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Turkey Tourism Promotion and Development Agency and features exhibitions, workshops, film screenings, discussions, portfolio reviews and an international competition, organised with the support of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality subsidiary Kultur AS.

The hub for the festival will be at Yapi Kredi Bomontiada. There are also the Tekfur Palace Museum, Zulfaris Karakoy, the Serefiye Cistern and Akaretler Row Houses as additional locations.

The festival is taking all precautions against the spread of the coronavirus and social distancing rules are being observed as well as temperature checks; face masks are obligatory at all venues. Tickets may be purchased at Biletix (Ticketmaster Turkiye).

“Born in the multicultural atmosphere of Istanbul and aiming to use its multidisciplinary nature to represent photography as a common language, 212 Photography Istanbul was envisioned as a platform to create a tradition in culture and arts,” director Banu Tuncag says. 

“Considering the extraordinary times we are living in, we have meticulously and selflessly prepared a programme including different formats,” she continues. “It will create an inspiring setting for dialogue with its comprehensive and multi dimensional content while it hosts many important artists from Turkey and abroad. For ten days, art lovers from Istanbul will be able to experience the art of photography in different locations around town and in online talks and workshops.”

A rich collection of artists

Artists included in the 212 Photography Istanbul programme are international talents whose works are in museums around the world and who tell stories with their cameras.

These include Michal Chelbin from Israel, Ouka Leele from Spain, Julia Hetta from the Netherlands, Ellen Kooi also from the Netherlands, Slovak artist Maria Svarbova, the Russian collective AES+F, the French artist Gregory Escande, Bruno Barbey, born in Morocco with French and Swiss citizenship, and Turkish talents Metin Cavus, who photographs the city walls of Istanbul, and Begum Yamanlar, who explores the boundary between still and moving images.

Nearly 20 works from the Borusan Contemporary Art Collection

The Borusan Contemporary Art Collection was initiated in the 1990s, specialising in modern and contemporary Turkish art, in addition to works by international artists such as Donald Judd, Sol LeWitt and Jim Dine.

An ever-expanding collection thanks to commissions, the Borusan Contemporary Art Collection contains “monumental and large-scale works that generally focus on architecture and landscape,” according to press materials.

Nearly 20 of these works will be on view at Akaretler Row Houses between October 8 and 18, 2020 for 212 Photography Istanbul.

Featuring the Howard Greenberg Collection

Howard Greenberg began his career as a photojournalist, then turned photography gallerist later in life. He still manages his gallery, which exhibits avant-garde photographers of the 20th century. Nearly forty works from Howard Greenberg’s collection will be on display in Istanbul for photography fans.

… and much more

In addition to all of the above, there will be an exhibition called “Perform and Negotiate” curated by Ali Taptik, which brings together local artists; walks that will take participants on a trip across town, one “starting at the Tekfur Palace Museum and travelling to the Anemas Dungeons, the Church of Saint Mary of the Mongols, the Hagios Demetrios Church, the Balat Balino Greek Orthodox Church and the Balat neighbourhood,” and another that takes them amongst the historic columns of Istanbul

A talk with famed Turkish Cypriot-British designer Hussein Chalayan is scheduled for October 10, where the artist will present examples from his career in fashion.

A mobile photography workshop, led by designer, stylist, photographer and director Umut Eker will take place on October 13 at Yapi Kredi Bomontiada.

Coskun Aral, whose photographs have been featured in prestigious magazines such as Time, Newsweek, L'Express, Paris-Match, and Stern, “will share his unique experience with those who want to be the explorers of their own dreams” in a talk titled ‘An Experience Collector’s Story’ on October 11 at Yapi Kredi Bomontiada.

There are many on- and offline events scheduled for 212 Photography Istanbul, which will surely breathe new life into the vibrant city that has, like all metropolitan cities, been affected by the coronavirus. For further details, check out the 212 Photography Istanbul website.

Thumbnail photo by Clemens Ascher.

Headline photo by Ellen Kooi.