Disobedience Archive occupies abandoned Greek school at Istanbul Biennial
At the 2022 Istanbul Biennial, held in the deserted Central Greek High School for Girls, curator Marco Scotini showcased the Disobedience Archive (Ders Bitti). This biennial, overseen by Ute Meta Bauer, Amar Kanwar, and David Teh, did not have a specific title and took place across twelve different venues. The Disobedience Archive, which began in 2005, chronicles forty years of social disobedience and was the sole Italian project featured. For this year's exhibition, Scotini emphasized feminist dissent, working alongside Can Altay, Renk Ozer, and Arnold Braho. The event included contributions from sixty artists, such as Piero Gilardi and Harun Farocki. Local attendees resonated with the materials, reflecting the biennial's theme of "compost." Scotini referenced Paulo Freire regarding the significance of lifelong learning.
Key facts
- Disobedience Archive (Ders Bitti) was presented at the 2022 Istanbul Biennial.
- The biennial was curated by Ute Meta Bauer, Amar Kanwar, and David Teh.
- The exhibition was held in the abandoned Central Greek High School for Girls, closed for 20 years.
- Disobedience Archive was the only Italian curatorial project invited; Renato Leotta was the other Italian artist.
- The archive began in 2005 and is an itinerant collection of videos, graphics, and ephemera on social disobedience.
- The 2022 edition focused on feminist dissent, curated by Marco Scotini with Can Altay, Renk Ozer, and Arnold Braho.
- The display used existing school furniture; three rooms with colored blackboards themed radical pedagogies, feminism, and ecologies.
- The blackboard motif referenced Jean-Luc Godard's concept of revolutionary cinema.
- Works by 60 artists including Ege Berensel, Critical Art Ensemble, Harun Farocki & Andrei Ujica, Piero Gilardi, Alberto Grifi, Ali Essafi, Cine muier chileno, and Navjot Altaf.
- The archive was previously invited to Istanbul in 2014 by Vasif Kortun at Salt Beyoglu, where the Gezi Park section was censored.
- The biennial had no title and was spread across 12 venues to symbolize decentralized knowledge.
- Local visitors were deeply moved by the materials, which resonated with their personal and collective memories.
Entities
Artists
- Marco Scotini
- Can Altay
- Renk Ozer
- Arnold Braho
- Renato Leotta
- Ege Berensel
- Critical Art Ensemble
- Harun Farocki
- Andrei Ujica
- Piero Gilardi
- Alberto Grifi
- Ali Essafi
- Cine muier chileno
- Navjot Altaf
- Jean-Luc Godard
- Paulo Freire
Institutions
- Istanbul Biennial
- IKSV
- Salt Beyoglu
- Central Greek High School for Girls
- Disobedience Archive
Locations
- Istanbul
- Turkey
- Central Greek High School for Girls
- Salt Beyoglu