17th Istanbul Biennial Explores Folk Politics and Long-Term Thinking Through Sound, Ritual, and Community
The 17th Istanbul Biennial, overseen by curators Ute Meta Bauer, Amar Kanwar, and David Teh, took place in Istanbul, Turkey, from 17 September to 20 November 2022. The theme, described as 'compost', focused on fostering local involvement and encouraging long-term perspectives. Key attractions featured performances by Arahmaiani and Bread and Puppet Theater, alongside installations such as Taloi Havini's 'Answer to the Call', Tarek Atoui's soundscape, and Carlos Casas' 'Cyclope' located in a metro tunnel. The Pera Museum displayed works from Irwan Ahmett and Tita Salina, while Barın Han presented Nakamura Yuta's architectural study. Community initiatives included the 'Dumpling Post' newspaper and Cooking Sections' milk-pudding shop. Lieko Shiga's 'Human Spring' was among the striking visuals, and the biennial explored themes of folkish spectacle and micro-utopias.
Key facts
- The 17th Istanbul Biennial took place from 17 September to 20 November 2022.
- Curators were Ute Meta Bauer, Amar Kanwar, and David Teh.
- Venues included Santralistanbul, Çinili Hamam, Küçük Mustafa Paşa Hamamı, Pera Museum, Barın Han, and Müze Gazhane.
- Performances featured Bread and Puppet Theater and Arahmaiani.
- Installations involved sound works by Taloi Havini, Tarek Atoui, and Carlos Casas.
- Community projects included the 'Dumpling Post' newspaper and Cooking Sections' milk-pudding shop.
- The biennial was sponsored by Turkey's biggest industrial conglomerate.
- A photograph from Lieko Shiga's 'Human Spring' series was highlighted as striking.
Entities
Artists
- Arahmaiani
- Laura Anderson Barbata
- Taloi Havini
- Tarek Atoui
- Carlos Casas
- Irwan Ahmett
- Tita Salina
- Lida Abdul
- Sriwhana Spong
- Nakamura Yuta
- Evrim Kavcar
- Elif Öner
- Orkan Telhan
- Lieko Shiga
- Ute Meta Bauer
- Amar Kanwar
- David Teh
- Marco Scotini
- Açık Radyo
- Anne(x)
- Arazi Assembly and Topological Atlas
- atelier d’architecture autogérée
- Pustaka Bergerak
- Atıf Akın
- Adlaw Sang Mananagat Fisherfolks’ Day
- John Bell
- Rustom Bharucha
- Bread and Puppet Theater
- Çiğdem Buğdaycı
- Lucien Castaing-Taylor
- Véréna Paravel
- Cooking Sections
- Crip Magazine
- Danarto dkk
- Devenir Universidad
- Disobedience Archive [Ders Bitti]
- Övül Durmuşoğlu
- Dumpling Post
- Greg Dvorak
- École du soir in Istanbul: Archives sonores de la litérature noire
- Marcelo Expósito
- Feminist Memory Project
- Ângela Ferreira
- Footsteps
- INLAND
- Green Papaya
- Anamika Haksar
- Newell Harry
- David Harvey
- Fang-tze Hsu
- INTERPRT
- In time / On Ground
- Lamia Joreige
- Elif Kamışlı
- Payal Kapadia
- Gülsün Karamustafa
- Dictionary of Sensitive Sounds
- KONDA
- Renato Leotta
- Charles Lim
- Simryn Gill
- Mariah Lookman
- Michael Marder
- Ruth McDougall
- Angela Melitopoulos
- Kerstin Schroedinger
- Alice Miceli
- Migrant Ecologies Projects
- Carl Mika
- Mark Nash
- Vladimir Seput
- Our-history-is-not-found-in-a-book
- Nguyên Trinh Thi
- Marian Pastor Roces
- Zozan Pelivhan
- Maria Puig de la Bellacasa
- Pere Portabella
- Pathshala South Asian Media Institute
- Poetry Channel
- Pratchaya Phinthong
- Chairat Polmuk
- Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook
- Ella Raidel
- Lisa Rave
- Riar Rizaldi
- SAHA Studio
- Ritu Sarin
- Tenzing Sonam
- Shapono
- Sim Chi Yin
- Silent University Orientation Programme
- Catarina Simão
- Yehwan Song
- What are the birds thinking?
- Chikako Yamashiro
- Yee I-Lann
- Barın Han
Institutions
- Bread and Puppet Theater
- Hrant Dink Foundation
- Cooking Sections
- INTERPRT
- Performistanbul
- Santralistanbul
- Pera Museum
- Müze Gazhane
- Barın Han
- Çinili Hamam
- Küçük Mustafa Paşa Hamamı
- Gezi Park
- Istanbul Biennial
- Küçük Mustafa Paşa Hammami
- Performistanbul Live Art Research Space (PCSAA)
- SAHA Studio
- arthereistanbul
- The Çinili Hamam
- Radio Bienal
- artreview.com
Locations
- Istanbul
- Turkey
- Yucatán
- Java
- Afghanistan
- Vienna
- Austria
- Eastern Anatolia
- Zeytinburnu
- Taksim Square