December 23, 2022 - September 17, 2023
Istanbuls Today is a photography exhibition that offers a comprehensive look into contemporary visual narratives from various Istanbuls that are shaped and experienced concurrently with the hope of creating a layered and innovative view of Istanbul's present.
The exhibition, including thematic urban landscapes, provides a viewing space for the latest unexhibited works of 11 photographers who live in Istanbul with varying relations with the city and who create art in their own unique styles.
These themes range from the city's topography of emptiness, loneliness, eeriness and incongruousness to its socio-political activities, the migration issue that has become more evident in the last decade to young individuals who took refuge in Istanbul to live without being labeled as the other, the Istanbul Canal project, which is one of the mega projects in Türkiye whose numbers have increased exponentially in recent years, to the practice of interpreting the city as a personal interaction space, and works dealing with the ordinarily extraordinary oddities of the city.
Curated by Refik Akyüz and Serdar Darendeliler, Istanbuls Today offers an attempt at a critical and creative visual interpretation of the period we live in, while also creating a space of discovery for photographers who have crossed paths with the current state of Istanbul, which has been photographed with passion, curiosity and excitement throughout history. Thus, it captures the diversity of photographers today. Istanbuls Today is enriched with articles penned for the catalogue by seven different academics, researchers and writers, who work, do research, think or create fiction about the subjects covered in the exhibition, inspired by the works of the exhibited artists.
Artists: Silva Bingaz, Osman Bozkurt, Ci Demi, Kıvılcım S. Güngörün, Ekin Özbiçer, Emin Özmen, Ahmet Sel, Ali Taptık, Kerem Uzel, Erdem Varol, Cansu Yıldıran
Authors: Yaşar Adnan Adanalı, Fırat Genç, Şebnem İşigüzel, Melisa Kesmez, Biray Kolluoğlu, Gamze Toksoy, Sibel Yardımcı
Kerem Uzel
Syrian immigrants play football on an empty field near Küçükçekmece which will be mainly allocated for luxury housing, June 2020
From the series Awaiting Transformation
2020 Archival Pigment Print
35x50 cm
Courtesy of the Artist
Silva Bingaz
From the series The Transformative Soul Deep Within, 2012-2022
Archival Pigment Print
60x90 cm
Courtesy of the Artist
Ci Demi
From the series Signs That Everything Is Going Wrong, 2016-2022
UV printing on wallpaper
365x462.5 cm
Courtesy of the Artist
Ekin Özbiçer
From the series Auto-orientalism, 2014-2022
Courtesy of the Artist
3D Virtual Tour
Exhibition Catalogue
Curated by Refik Akyüz and Serdar Darendeliler, Istanbuls Today offers an attempt at a critical and creative visual interpretation of the period we live in, while also creating a space of discovery for photographers who have crossed paths with the current state of Istanbul, which has been photographed with passion, curiosity and excitement throughout history. Thus, it captures the diversity of photographers today.
Istanbuls Today is a photography exhibition that offers a comprehensive look into contemporary visual narratives from various Istanbuls that are shaped and experienced concurrently with the hope of creating a layered and innovative view of Istanbul's present
The Pera Museum is presenting the premiere of the Dialogue Project – Istanbul, an interdisciplinary performance that merges documentary theatre, sound installations, visual arts, and live music. This performance is part of the Istanbuls Today exhibition and explores the theme of migration through the lens of Istanbul.
Pera Museum is hosting a panel titled “Urban Reflections: Visions of Modern Urbanity” in the context of the Istanbuls Today exhibition. Accompanying the exhibition of the works of 11 photographers living in Istanbul that depict the bonds they have formed with the city from a sociological, cultural, political, environmental, and economic perspective are the writings of 7 academics, researchers and literary scholars who have been inspired by these themes.
As part of the Istanbuls Today exhibition, Pera Museum is hosting a panel titled “Urban Reflections: Encounters.” Accompanying the exhibition of the works of 11 photographers living in Istanbul that depict the bonds they have formed with the city from a sociological, cultural, political, environmental, and economic perspective are the writings of 7 academics, researchers and literary scholars who have been inspired by these themes.
For International Museum Week, a free exhibition tour for a limited number of participants is organised with the curators Serdar Darendeliler and Refik Akyüz.
Within the scope of the exhibition Istanbuls Today, which opened at Pera Museum in December, the program includes nine film examples from experimental, documentary and fiction genres. The word “uğrak” (the beaten track), which is thought to originate from the Turkish-Mongolian language family, means to stop by and go. The word uğrak, transformed over the years to mean to make a temporary stop and to go frequently, allows us to show the films that transform Istanbul into a place of a haunt.
Pera Learning
Pera Museum Learning Programs organizes “Stories of Our Time” in parallel with the exhibitions Paula Rego: The Story of Stories and Istanbuls Today. The program offers fun and inspiring exhibition tours, and online/face-to-face workshops.
Pera Museum Learning Programs organizes “Stories of Our Time” in parallel with the exhibitions Paula Rego: The Story of Stories and Istanbuls Today. The program offers fun and inspiring exhibition tours, and online/face-to-face workshops.
Pera Museum Learning Programs organizes interdisciplinary workshops for adults within the scope of Istanbuls Today and Paula Rego: The Story of Stories.
Inspired by the exhibition Istanbuls Today, Today's Stories series starts with Pelin Buzluk's story "Coal"! TThis series gathers short stories written by authors encouraged by the photographs in the exhibition.
Inspired by the exhibition Istanbuls Today, Today's Stories series continues with Özge Baykan Calafato's story "Cihangir"! This series gathers short stories written by authors encouraged by the photographs in the exhibition.
Inspired by the exhibition Istanbuls Today, Today's Stories series continues with Hande Ortaç's story "Felis"! This series gathers short stories written by authors encouraged by the photographs in the exhibition.
Tuesday - Saturday 10:00 - 19:00
Friday 10:00 - 22:00
Sunday 12:00 - 18:00
The museum is closed on Mondays.
On Wednesdays, the students can
visit the museum free of admission.
Full ticket: 200 TL
Discounted: 100 TL
Groups: 150 TL (minimum 10 people)
