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Çanakkale Biennial: Coordinates 40°9′0″N-26°24′0″E
14/02/2015 @ 11:00 - 08/03/2015 @ 17:00

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14 February – 8 March 2015
Preparing to meet its audience at Depo, “ÇANAKKALE BIENNIAL: Coordinates” follows the conceptual framework generated by the 3rd and 4th International Çanakkale Biennials, addressing the historical memory which determines Çanakkale’s actual social and cultural texture. The exhibition brings together works that examine universal phenomena such as militarism, mythologies & micro-macro narratives and the monumentalization of history, within the unique context of Çanakkale.
Artists: Nikita Alexeev (Moscow), Nigol Bezjian (Beirut), Klaus vom Bruch (Berlin), Ayşe Erkmen (Berlin-İstanbul), Aladdin Garunov (Moscow), Jakob Gautel (Paris), Güven İncirlioğlu (İzmir), Grigor Khachatryan (Erivan), Komet (İstanbul), Sıtkı Kösemen (İstanbul), Ulrike Rosenbach (Düsseldorf), Viron Erol Vert (Berlin-İstanbul), Yeni Anıt (Mardin-İstanbul), Ani Setyan (İstanbul), Hakan Kırdar (İzmir)
Curatorial Team: Beral Madra (General Art Director), Seyhan Boztepe (Biennial Director), Deniz Erbaş (Corporate Curator)
The conceptual frameworks chosen for the International Çanakkale Biennial since the beginning, all receive support from a foundation that takes into account and examines the country’s, region’s and world’s political, social, cultural realities and problems and then interprets and critisizes them through the generation of art. Adopting as a principle the creation of a mutual interaction and communication environment via the collaboration of civil society, art & culture institutions and universities with artists, the International Çanakkale Biennial aims to position Çanakkale within the communication networks of the global field of art and culture. The Biennial also wishes to transform Çanakkale, the geographical junction of the Mediterranean basin, Europe and the Middle East, into an international centre for the generation, exhibition and perception of contemporary art.
The International Çanakkale Biennial is organized by CABININ – Çanakkale Biennial Initiative, and supported by the Çanakkale Municipality. Carried out in Çanakkale’s structures of historical and cultural importance such as the Old Armenian Church, Korfmann Library, Jewish (Acorn) Depot, Çimenlik Fortress, House of Vitalis, Soldier’s Hammam and its densely populated public spaces like the Corniche and Port districts and the Public Garden, the biennial successfully implements the phenomenon of “Contemporary Art in a Public Space” reflecting the relational aesthetic rhetoric of today’s art. This characteristic of the Çanakkale Biennial coincides with the discourse, content and form of the exhibitions and activities presented since its foundation by Depo, the institution that brought forth the proposal of presenting the Çanakkale Biennial to the attention of the Istanbuli audience.
With its grand narratives from Ancient Troy to the Gallipoli Campaign where half a million souls were lost in the first years of WW1, Çanakkale is a city that brings to mind the “phenomenon of war”. Organized in 2014 while the centennial of World War 1 was commemorated worldwide, the 4th International Çanakkale Biennial aimed at opening an artistic and intellectual space which brings forth a critical stance in relation to the problems created by the wars of our times, against the various ideologies that “mythologize and sanctify war”. The biennial also intends to make “peace culture & liberty” – the common view of Çanakkale’s ever so supportive and influent civil society and local authority – clearly perceived on a national and international scale.
The anthology to be presented to the İstanbuli audience between February 13th – March 8th at Depo, takes a look at the city throught the conceptual perspective of the previous two International Çanakkale Biennials, bringing together the work of international artists that probe Çanakkale’s authentic mythologies and corpus cliche via different materials and concepts. The exhibited works focus on militarism and historiography in a broad perspective ranging from the historical and cultural symbols that have come to be identified with Çanakkale since antiquity, to the micro and macro narratives spread across the national and regional geography.
Sponsors: Anadolu Kültür, Open Society Foundation, ÇATKAV (Çanakkale History and Culture Foundation), Çanakkale Municipality, I.U. Information Center Without Disability, Avantgarde Collection
www.canakkalebienali.com
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