DEPO is a cultural and critical debate center in Istanbul opened in January 2009 to serve as a venue and platform for artists, artist collectives, civic and cultural organizations. It aims to host events involving artists from Turkey, the South Caucasus, the Middle East and the Balkans. The objectives of DEPO are to facilitate artistic collaboration and cultural exchange, and to stimulate reflection on social and political issues relevant for the region.
DEPO was established as an initiative of Anadolu Kültür, a not-for-profit organization working in the field of culture . Since its establishment Anadolu Kültür has been a driving force in facilitating cross-cultural collaborations and circulating art through Anatolia.
DEPO is located in a former tobacco warehouse (Tütün Deposu) close the city center. Since the 9th International Istanbul Biennial in 2005, the building has been occasionally used as an exhibition and project space. In 2008 the building was renovated with minimum intervention to its original features.
Tütün Deposu also hosts the international art gallery RODEO directed by Sylvia Kouvali.
• Exhibitions, film & video screenings
The artistic program includes exhibitions and film and video screenings organized in collaboration with our regional partners. Substantive collaboration is a key goal, therefore priority is given to projects that help to encourage, build and sustain long-term relationships. The space hosts projects initiated by the DEPO team in collaboration with local and international partners; as well as proposed projects or touring activities in line with its artistic program. Art projects address socio-political implications of art practices in the region. Tütün Deposu is also one of the venues of the 11th International Istanbul Biennial to take place between 12 September and 8 November 2009.
• Conferences, panel discussions, workshops, artist talks
Conferences, panel discussion, workshops and artist talks addressing issues concerning contemporary art practices and socially and politically relevant themes are organized with partners from the region. In addition to these, artists, curators and other groups and individuals participating in DEPO projects are invited to present their work and discuss the general theme of their projects.
• E-journal: ‘Red Thread’ / www.red-thread.org
The quarterly e-journal ‘Red Thread’ is envisioned as an active network and platform for exchange of knowledge and collaboration of artists, curators, academicians, social scientists, theorists and cultural operators from the Balkans, the Middle East, the Caucasus and North Africa. It aims to create and widely disseminate new knowledge about paradigmatic socially engaged art practices in a wide geopolitical context, thus challenging the predominance of Western narratives in official art histories and exhibition making. Each issue of the e-journal will contain a number of already existing seminal texts from the region that were previously available only in their original language and thus inaccessible for a wider international audience. New research will result in a number of new texts, providing re-readings and re-interpretations of key moments in art history, as well as new interpretations of contemporary art practices in the region. All texts published in ‘Red Thread’ will be available in English and Turkish, as well as in the original language in which they were written. Editors in Chief of the first issues of ‘Red Thread’ are the curatorial collective WHW/What, How & for Whom (curators of the 11th International Istanbul Biennial) and regional Editorial and Advisory Boards will guarantee a variety of perspectives. A series of international panel discussions related to the themes of the journal issues will be organized at DEPO.
All DEPO activities are free of charge.