Past Events
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2013
» March 29th, 2013 - 'Fistula', a performance by Miss Universe
Miss Congo becomes Miss Universe in the latest performance by Miss Universe.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is in a civil war, largely financed by the western way of living.
This war has resulted in the deaths of 5.4 million people, making it the deadliest conflict worldwide since World War II.
» March 27th, 2013 - Ughetta Dallimonti: New Paintings
An exhibition of new paintings and drawings by our current artist-in-resident
Ughetta Dallimonti from London.
» February 28th, 2013 - Timothy Stanley: Open Studio
An open studio exhibition featuring works by current artist-in-residence Timothy Stanley. Stanley’s work spans performance, prose fiction, drawing and sculpture, exploring abstraction and its effects on story and narrative voice. Stanley exhibited new pieces inspired by his time in Istanbul, and especially the Perşembe Pazarı neighborhood in which Caravansarai is located. During his residency, Stanley had also been working on a novel set in Istanbul, and read an excerpt from the text as part of the opening.
2012
» November 3rd, 2012 - Welcome to the Dollhouse
Anika Weshinskey conceived and directed aerialists Sevinç Gürmen and Kate Beckel in a family drama involving aerial silks, static trapeze, foot juggling, and dancing. After the performance there was a tour of the neighborhood, showcasing the shops of men who have made or helped make the circus equipment and sets used at Caravansarai.
» June 17th, 2012 - Perşembe Pazarı Projects Preview
On Sundays, the hardware shops of Perşembe Pazarı are closed but we are open! Sound, visual, and performance installations inspired by Perşembe Pazarı were on display for one evening only. In addition to art installations by Caravansarai, Pat Arnao (USA), and Fiona Davies (AUS) there was Street Badminton, foot juggling and trapeze exhibition, and a BBQ.
» May 28th - June 15th, 2012 - Untitled (Hanging/Asılı)
Artist-in-Resident Suada Demirovic created Untitled (Hanging/Asılı) as a temporary installation on the Caravansarai terrace.
» April 27th - TanHanArtTeras - Storms
The first exhibition of the Tan Han Art Teras Olga Alexopoulou presented a floating projection, above the terrace, illuminating her series of pantings entitled 'Storms'
For more information click here
Ruins and Fortifications Open Studio
Gabriele Garavaglia’s two-month residency at Caravansarai culminated with an open studio presentation of his work. Concerned with urban transformation which were triggered by the emptying of Tarlabaşı, the artist was on hand to illuminate and discuss his artworks created out of a direct handling of this issue.
2011
Res Artis Planning Meeting
The Board of Res Artis, the worldwide network of artist residencies gathered at Caravansarai for a three day strategic planning meeting. There was also much to explore in Istanbul of course!
October 29th - Propeller People
Propeller People is a play in public space, creating a line formation by holding hands. The formation functions as a human revolving door, rotating around a fixed point in the middle of Istiklal Caddesi, an extremely crowded pedestrian street in Istanbul. The movement is ‘controlled’ by the pedestrians who walk pass through it.
Irwan Ahmett and Tita Salina, Indonesia
October 26th - Fishing News
This is a performance that responds to the fishermen on the Galata Bridge - people of all ages who there at practically every hour of the day. Fishing News was performed by Fatih Gençkal and Şafak, 'commentators' conducting play-by-play reports of the fishermen's actions, engaging tourists and local residents alike.
Irwan Ahmett and Tita Salina, Indonesia
October 15th - Remote Citizen
40 participants were guided through throughout the city with a wireless intercom, moving from Caravansarai to Galata Tower, up to Istiklal Cad, then back dow over the Galata Bridge to Eminönü Square and back to Caravansarai. The performance played with the everyday flow of public space; speeding it up, slowing it down, adding moments of absurdity, play and spontaneous actions.
Christian Kuntner and Astride Schlaefli, Switzerland
September 18th - Rejected Cake
Rejected Cake Project evolved from the artist’s 2008 experience, designing cakes for the Turkish premium pastry brand, Divan. It is a series of presentations, turning the spotlight toward anything but the cakes and designs that are used by Divan. It aims to give a life to the rejected cakes by realising them in collaboration with a local patisserie. For this special occasion of Caravansarai's first birthday, Mako Ishizuka again collaborates with Divan.
Mako Ishizuka, Japan/Sweden
September 18th - Ice Cream Mirage
Traveling with a 1920's ice cream churn, Gabriel Adams travels along Asia's Silk road, making delicious iced desserts in museums, galleries and in public. In Istanbul, Gabriel invented a new recipe in honor of Caravansarai's first birthday - Pekmez Ice Cream! Yummm.
Gabriel Adams, USA
» September 18th - Birthday Slumber Party
Caravansarai is one year old! Yes, a real slumber party with scary movies, Truth or Dare and nachos!
May 28th - Killin Time
Balloons strung by the seaside - the scrape of the döner man's knife against its sharpener - the flicker of the neon lights of Şişhane, David and Helga brought together bits and pieces of their time in Istanbul in their performance on the terrace.
David Pepper, musician/Wales
Helga Björg Gylfadóttir, visual artist/Iceland
May 28th - Dress, Memory
Writer-in-Residence Lorelei Vashti launched her newest project, a weekly dress blog!
Dress, Memory is a piecemeal memoir of her twenties through dresses.
Every Friday, a new dress and a new story at www.dressmemory.com
May 28th - Birthday Cake Bake-off
We celebrate Julie's birthday with a baking contest! 5 cakes competed for prizes in several categories.
Most Impressive, Best Concept, Best Eaten with your Eyes Closed, Tallest....etc
March 29th - Macbeth! Love it or leave it!
In the performance project “Macbeth! Love it or leave it!”, the play “Macbeth” is rebuilt with a new female character, Miss Universe! She is not the crazy utopist like Lady Macbeth, but an accurate opportunist.
» more information and photos
» Miss Universe website
January 22nd - Bread Workshop with Alex Bettler
Istanbul, Turkey
We hosted the Turkey edition of Alex Bettler's Bread Workshop. He was interested in the way that the simit could act as a means of communication, like a newspaper, when it is distributed through the street carts. He brought two recipes to choose from, Simit and an Irish Soda bread. Over 25 of us made the dough, shaped it and brought it to the neighboring Pide Restaurant, whose stone oven was still hot from lunch. Yum!
» Alex Bettler...Hello Bread a post on the Caravansarai blog
» more about the workshop on TRUK's website
» more pictures
2010
October 24th : Transfer (Crossing the Haliç)
Stephanie Beck, USA
As a conclusion to her residency at Caravansarai, she will set sail on the Halic, sending her work, inspired by the architecture of Istanbul, floating across the Halic on a fishing boat.
October 16-19th - IETM Caravan
Warsaw and Lublin, Poland
Anika returned to Poland, this time to meet up with an intimate group of theatre and performing arts enthusiasts and to get a glimpse into the performing arts scene in Warsaw and Lublin.
October 6-10th - Res Artis 12th General Meeting
Montreal, Canada
The conference, titled 'The Americas: Independent Artistic Practices in the Era of Globalization' was a chance for Julie to reconnect to her North American roots, see what was happening in the arts and culture world in Montreal and catch up with Res Artis friends.
» conference website
» website of Res Artis
October 2nd - Galata Visibility Project Open House & Party at Caravansarai
Istanbul, Turkey
Caravansarai hosted two of the month-long workshops as part of the Galata Visibility Project...'Theory Workshop' by Ata Ünal, and 'Adolescent Choir' hosted by Deniz Aygun. Our open house day included a performance by the Gameboy Music Club.
» website of Gameboy Music Club
» website of Galata Perform
September 18 - Caravansarai Grand Opening Party
Istanbul, Turkey
Celebrating the end of construction, baked potatoes, Ms. Universe and so much more
June 28 - July 3 - Black Sea Academy
Istanbul, Turkey
Caravansarai participated in a 6 days platform for capacity building, networking, knowledge exchange and experience sharing, bringing cultural entrepreneurs and managers from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey to Istanbul.
Black Sea Academy information on Rhiz.eu
January 28-30 - New Times New Models Conference
Pekarna, Maribor, Slovenia
Why Independence? How Independence (and what is independence anyways?) Ex-squatters, squatters, activists, artists, those who had accepted governmental positions themselves and many others met to discuss governance models and strategies of cooperating with the government (or at least getting from them what you want). It was interesting to compare case studies from ex-Yugoslavians (who put themselves in the US vs. THE GOVERNMENT position) with those operating independent spaces in the UK (who found strategies to keep under the radar of the authorities, gaining their funding from entrepreneurial or private sources).
» more images
» website of New Times New Models complete with images, information and audio recordings from the conference
2009
December 15-18 - De Baak Young Executives Program Consultancy
Nine recently promoted Dutch executives were visiting Istanbul as part of their international training seminar. Caravansarai acted as the 'case study' for their trip. It was interesting for us to present ourselves to a group that knew nothing about artists, Istanbul or the art and culture environment and interesting for them to get a glimpse into our 'work without working hours'.
» their blog (in Dutch)
November 16-19 - Eastern European Res Artis Meeting
'Re-Tooling Residencies' Center for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw, Poland
A regional meeting of Res Artis, the worldwide network of artist residencies and the launch of their Training and Support Program. We met a lot of interesting people opening new spaces in Poland, Latvia and around the Eastern European region. Afterwards we had a Baltic Sea Summit and discussed future projects that we would like to create in the Gdansk shipyards.
» more images
» more about: the conference on the Res Artis website
October 2-5 - 1st International Artist Initiatives Istanbul Meeting
Istanbul 2010 Art Production Center Kadirga
Kadirga Liman Caddesi No:82 Kumkapi, Istanbul Turkey
A fair with discussions and presentations involving other artist-run spaces in Istanbul and around Europe. At the fair, we began a collaboration with a Swedish group, which took place in February 2010.
» more about: the meeting
September 23-29 - New Tactics, an Online Discussion
A moderated online discussion between international art spaces and activists. Topics included: hosting activists in artist communities, community engagement, resources, collaborations
» read: the discussion
June 26-30 - Emerging Art Space Support Initiative (EASSI) Retreat
An initiative of FreeDimensional, Wasan Island, Ontario, Canada
Getting to know the other emerging spaces in the EASSI program through discussions, training, meals, swims and presentations.
» more images
» more about: the EASSI program
March 25-27 - Cairo Residency Symposium
Townhouse Gallery, Cairo, Egypt
A meeting of residency programs from the Middle East, Caucuses and Turkey. After, at the Al Fayoum oasis, we conducted our first 'Caravansarai Summit' meeting (brainstorming and planning for the future). We also traveled to Alexandria to visit our friends at Gudran for Arts and Development and got full on fuul.
» more images
» the website of: the symposium
2008
October 16-19 - Caravansarai @ Comtemporary Istanbul Art Fair
Caravansarai had a booth at the big fancy Istanbul art fair, supported by the Istanbul Capital of Culture 2010 Organisation.
» more images
» the website of: Contemporary Istanbul
May 10-18 - Caravansarai @ Kunstvlaai
Caravansarai, along with a group of other artist initiatives in Istanbul, traveled to Amsterdam to present our spaces and meet people. We all learned a lot about how to navigate the European contemporary art world.
» more images
» the website of: Kunstvaai
April 25 - Virtual Chef - Birthday
Caravansarai had its first birthday. To celebrate we collected birthday cake recipes from around the world - Chocolate Torte from the States, Bunny Cake from Turkey, Sachertorte from Germany and Fondant from New Zealand. We enjoyed cakes and beers with over 50 revelers.
» more images
» Virtual Chef Birthday on the Virtual Chef Webpage
April : Outside In
Anita Bacic, Australia / Turkey
A cinematic experience capturing street life, an unconscious projection with light as the only editor. Using nothing but light, an opening and darkness Outside In creates a story through moving images – in this case our daily lives – surveillance as entertainment.
April 5 - Does it make a difference? Nordic Summer University at Caravansarai
Erkan Saka visited caravansarai as part of a symposium with the Nordic Summer University's 'Intercultural and inter-religious philosophy and dialogues' group. Discussions about art, philosophy and culture in social and cultural development, moderated by by Oleg Koefoed, a Philisophical Creator with the Gravitations Center for Action Philosophy in Copenhagen, Denmark.
» more images
» website of the Nordic Summer University
March: Two Times Tart Tasting
Julie Upmeyer, USA/Turkey
In collaboration with the Bereket Borek Solonu, specially designed tart shells were created, in the shape of a half circle. Upmeyer invited individuals living in Turkey, Armenia, Bulgaria, Syria, Iran, Greece, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Iraq to submit a sweet-tasting recipe to go inside the tart shells.
In Istanbul, you could taste these sweets, choosing for yourself which two countries you wish to combine. ‘Two Times Tart’ was part of the Love Difference Pastry Network, a developing project using sweets to connect people, cultures and ideas. Initiated by Cittadellarte and Love Difference – Artistic Movement for an InterMediterranean Politic.
January 2008 : In the beginning, there was the 'BEEP'
DJ HSH (Micha Neidel), Germany
Almost 30 years have passed since the introduction of personal computers with sound chips. Time for a chipsound review. This radio show featured retro tunes made with the first mainstream personal computers such as ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Atari ST. Tune in with DJ HSH and travel in time!
» listen: to the show
» more information and images
2007
November 26 - Virtual Chef : Iran / Never Been to Tehran
Meal: In Istanbul, we find the ingredients for a dish, planned by Ashkan Sepahvand in Iran (Berlin). On the night of the dinner, we receive real-time instructions on how to cook our meal.
Slideshow: Imagine a city that you’ve only seen in reproductions or perhaps have merely heard about through indirect sources—the nightly news, hearsay, literature, magazines, movies, and the Internet. Using these secondhand clues as firsthand research materials, invited worldwide participants—who have Never Been to Tehran—will take photographs (from their home base) of what they imagine Tehran to look like.
» more images
» Virtual Chef Iran on the Virtual Chef Webpage
» Never Been to Tehran webpage
October 26 - Virtual Chef : Romania / Hitchhiking to Transylvania
Meal: The Virtual Chef project explores, through food, the international and diverse aspects of Istanbul. Here in the city Julie Upmeyer finds the ingredients for a meal, planned by Anamaria Galea in Romania, we receiving live instructions on how to cook our meal.
Video: Iuliana Varodi invited ten video artists to hitchhike to Morisena in Transylvania. On the way and during the residency, crossing various cultures and situations, the artists used video art as a mean to explore and create, collaborating in their endeavors.
» more images
» Virtual Chef Romania on the Virtual Chef Webpage
» Hitchhiking to Transylvania project page
September 2007 : 'Serenade'
Kartini Thomas, New Zealand
On the street, in countries throughout the EU, people sing improvised love songs to passersby, captured on camera. The ‘Serenade’ project continues in Turkey, as Thomas takes her project to the streets in Istanbul. The results of her work in France, Spain and Turkey will be shown…come lets sing…I love you.
» watch: the video
» more information and images
August 1 : Caravansarai Istanbul TV
An attempt to start an independent arts internet TV station. The first program was ‘Outside the News’, an alternative news program that first featured interviews with artists involved with the Istanbul Map Project
» watch: the 1st episode
» watch: the 2nd episode
June 27-30 - ENTER Caravansarai
'Enter Caravansarai’ was the opening festival/workshop/party, celebrating the beginning of a new art/social/creative workshop/networking space in Istanbul. It was an open invitation for anyone who wished to be a part, to teach, perform, present or in any other way engage the audience for 30 or 60 minutes of time.
We operated this event in live-realtime with our partners, Taidekoulu MMA, in Suomenlinna – the UNESCO Sea-Fortress island, off the coast of Helsinki – in Finland, mutually contributing to each other’s event.
June 26 - Caravansarai Introduction Meeting
The introduction and brainstorming meeting of Caravansarai Project Space. After an introduction by Julie Upmeyer, questions, concerns, problems and ideas were discussed. We talked about open source culture, wikis, funding, participation and the difficulties and advantages of an independent space.
» more images
» listen: to the dialogue
June 2007 : 'Mirror, wood, tape, wire, c-clamps, sunlight'
Ulrike Mohr, Germany
A site-specific installation at Caravansarai. A series of mirrors were installed on the roof and outside the Caravansarai window. This construction directed the sunbeam from the roof, down the shaft behind Caravansarai and into the room. It was projected onto a wall inside the space, creating a impermanent, moving drawing on the wall. The installation worked from approximately 14:50 until 15:05 each day (depending on a large variety of variables)
» more information and images
» see Ulrike's website
May 18 - DPU Social Mashup
Students from Developmental Planning Unit at University College London had been working in Sulukule district of Istanbul with area NGOs and the residents to develop an alternative development plan for the community. As a chance to make some parallels between their work as urban planners and our own work as socially engaged artists, Andrew and Julie invited the group to Caravansarai to share information and methodologies.
» more images
» listen: to part 1
» listen: to part 2