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Istanbul Biennial 2013

The public programme of the 13th Istanbul Biennial, consisting of performances, symposia, workshops and poetry readings, took place between February 2013 and September 2013. Entitled Public Alchemy, the programme was inspired on the one hand by the feminist writings on witchcraft and capitalism by Isobel Stengers and Philip Pagnarre, and on the other by the context of Istanbul, where the censorship of the media and of protest, as well as rapid urban genrification, were dominant in the minds of artists and community organisers.

The idea of ‘the public’ provokes extreme reactions, weighted by religious, financial, governmental and geographical differences. Some see the public as a homogenising and ideological machine, a tool used by the powerful upon the weak. Others assert their role as part of a public as a right of citizenship, a spectacular affront to autocratic legislation and a forceful tool of dissent. Public Alchemy aimed to set such discussions in the context of Istanbul, where ‘the public sphere’ is a contested term, and where the majority of cultural institutions and universities are privately owned.

Research for the development of the programme involved nine periods of time spent in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir interviewing artists, poets, urban historians and community activists, and working closely with Fulya Erdemci, the curator of the Biennial exhibition. This research was combined with my ongoing investigation into histories of the public in art, social and political science, and philosophy.

As well as chairing and moderating all events for the programme and collaborating on and writing for the ensuing publication, further research stemming from my role has included keynote lectures and a publication for A Space called Public (Munich 2013), a keynote address for Sofia Contemporary (April 2013), and lectures and workshops at Harvard and Yale Universities (October 2013).