Caner Aslan
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My City is a unique public art project involving five cities across Turkey and five European Union countries: Austria, Finland, Germany, Poland and the UK.
Conceived and managed by the British Council as part of the Cultural Bridges Programme funded by the European Union, My City brings cultural debate to the forefront of the dialogue between Turkey and Europe, capitalising on cities as meeting points.
At the heart of the programme is the commissioning of five new, site-specific works by European artists for five cities across Turkey.
Each city represents a different aspect of Turkey, from Mardin on the south-eastern border close to Syria, to Canakkale on the Dardanelles strait, and from Trabzon on the Black Sea to Konya in the centre of the Anatolian plateau. Istanbul, capital of successive empires reaching from the Asia to the Atlantic, serves as a crossroads for the project, which coincides with the city’s year as European Capital of Culture.
| Çanakkale |
Mark Wallinger (UK) |
| Istanbul |
Andreas Fogarasi (Österreich) |
| Konya |
Joanna Rajkowska (Polen) |
| Mardin |
Clemens von Wedemeyer (Deutschland) |
| Trabzon |
Minna Henriksson (Finnland) |
Simultaneously, leading artists from Turkey have been invited to take part in residencies in major European venues.
| Can Altay |
Warszawa Centrum Sztuki Wspólczesnej Zamek Ujazdowski (Warschau, Polen) |
| Caner Aslan |
Berliner Künstlerprogramm des DAAD (Berlin, Deutschland)
Ausstellung vom 11. Dezember 2010 - 29. Januar 2011 in der daadgalerie |
| Işil Eğrikavuk |
Hartware MedienKunstVerein & Künstlerhaus Dortmund
(Dortmund, Deutschland) |
| Leyla Gediz |
FRAME and HIAP (Helsinki, Finnland) |
| Gülsün Karamustafa |
Akademie der Bildenden Künste Wien (Wien, Österreich) |
| Güneş Terkol |
Gasworks (London, UK) |
Turkey and the European Union
Between 2005-19, the European Union is extending the City of Culture title to countries which are not members of the EU.
In light of Turkey’s candidacy for accession, our initiative aims to foster greater understanding between Turkey and the countries of the European Union through cultural exchange.
My City is led by a dedicated British Council team in Istanbul, working with local partners Anadolu Kultur, an agency which promotes cultural development within and beyond Turkey, and Platform Garanti Contemporary Art Centre Istanbul. It is co-funded by the European Commission as part of its Cultural Bridges Programme.
The selection process
Artists from Europe were nominated for My City by a panel of acclaimed international curators:
- Andrea Schlieker (UK), Curator of the Folkestone Triennial and curatorial adviser to the My City project
- Brigitte Franzen (Germany), Director, Ludwig Forum for International Art, Aachen
- Mika Hannula (Finland), University of Gothenburg
- Sebastian Cichocki (Poland), Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw
- Silvia Eiblmayr (Austria), Co-curator, Austrian Pavilion, Venice Biennale 2009
In September 2009, after six months of visits and development, the artists were selected from a long list by the British Council together with the Platform Garanti Contemporary Art Centre.
Development
The project has been three years in the making. Preparations for each artwork and residency have involved creating partnerships between artists, local authorities, schools and universities, urban planners, and the general public. It is complemented by a programme of talks and symposia, taking place in the each of the selected Turkish cities and exploring contemporary art and the cities’ themes. |
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