X-Nico

4 unusual facts about Istanbul Biennial


Görgün Taner

Gorgun Taner (born 1959) is the General Director of the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV), a non-profit, non-governmental organisation founded in 1973 that organises four international festivals (Film, Theatre, Classical Music and Jazz), the Istanbul Biennial, and the Istanbul Design Biennial.

Istanbul Biennial

The Biennial was organised under the curatorship of René Block in 1995, Rosa Martínez in 1997, Paolo Colombo in 1999, Yuko Hasegawa in 2001, Dan Cameron in 2003, Charles Esche and Vasif Kortun in 2005 and Hou Hanru in 2007 and will be realised by the Zagreb-based curators collective What, How & for Whom / WHW in 2009.

After the first two biennials realised under the general coordination of Beral Madra in 1987 and 1989, İKSV decided to adapt a single curator system following the İstanbul Biennial directed by Vasif Kortun in 1992.

Replicas of Michelangelo's David

David (inspired by Michelangelo), by Turkish conceptual artist Serkan Özkaya, is a gold-painted foam reproduction of the statue, twice the size of the original, originally created for the 9th International Istanbul Biennial in 2005, accidentally destroyed during installation, recreated, and now in the collection of the 21c Museum Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky.


Alfredo Jaar

His work has been shown extensively around the world, notably in the Biennales of Venice (1986, 2007), São Paulo (1987, 1989, 2010), Istanbul (1995), Kwangju (1995, 2000), Johannesburg (1997), and Seville (2006).

Ömer Ali Kazma

His work was shown in the 7th and 10th Istanbul Biennial (2001, 2010), Tokyo Opera City (2001), Platform Garanti Contemporary Art Center (İstanbul, 2003), Cetinje Biennial (2004), İstanbul Modern (2004), 2nd Istanbul Pedestrian Exhibitions (2005), 9th Havana Biennial (Cuba, 2006) and San Francisco Art Institute (2006).

Thierry Geoffroy

The format has been seen at the Athens Biennial Emergency Room, at the Istanbul Biennial, at the Venice Biennial in 2007 (by Biennalist), at the Venice Biennial in 2009 (penetrations at the Venezuelan Pavilion with Daniel Medina, at the Finnish Pavilion with Jussi Kivi and at the Belgian boat with Jacques Charlier, curated by Enrico Lunghi).


see also

Kutluğ Ataman

Ataman entered the art world first in 1997 when he took part in the 5th International Istanbul Biennial where he presented "kutluğ ataman's semiha b. unplugged" a long-form documentary of the opera diva Semiha Berksoy.