Elmgreen & Dragset Curate 15th Istanbul Biennial Amid Political Repression
The 15th Istanbul Biennial, curated by artist duo Elmgreen & Dragset, opened in September 2024 under the title "a good neighbor." The biennial features 56 artists from 32 countries across six venues, including the Istanbul Modern museum and a modernist residence housing Mahmoud Khaled's project. Ingar Dragset and Michael Elmgreen, who have collaborated since 1995, consulted Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk about proceeding with the event following a 2016 coup attempt in Turkey that led to widespread arrests of intellectuals and journalists. Pamuk encouraged them not to withdraw. The curators aimed to support the local Turkish art scene, inspire people, and suggest new forms of language production. Dragset noted the biennial could help maintain international connections and counter isolation. The theme, chosen before events like Brexit and Trump's border wall proposal, reflects on Turkey's history of diversity. The exhibition includes more introspective works by Turkish artists, such as a commissioned piece by Volkan Aslam. The curatorial process involved traditional research and discovering artists like Victor Leguy and Andrea Joyce Heimer via Instagram. This marks the duo's first and likely last biennial curation, described as consuming work that halted their own artistic production for six months.
Key facts
- The 15th Istanbul Biennial opened in September 2024.
- It is curated by the artist duo Elmgreen & Dragset.
- The biennial features 56 artists from 32 countries across six venues.
- The theme is "a good neighbor."
- Curators consulted Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk after the 2016 coup attempt in Turkey.
- The aim is to support the local art scene and maintain international connections.
- Some artists, like Victor Leguy, were discovered via Instagram.
- This is the duo's first and declared last biennial curation.
Entities
Artists
- Elmgreen & Dragset
- Ingar Dragset
- Michael Elmgreen
- Orhan Pamuk
- Mahmoud Khaled
- Volkan Aslam
- Andrea Joyce Heimer
- Victor Leguy
- Montez Magno
- Mari Ra
- Zé di Cabeça
- Fabio Miguez
- Adenor Gondim
- Luciano Feijão
- Júlio Bittencourt
- Marlene Barros
- Claudia Alarcón
- Silät
- Deborah Paiva
- Nuno Ramos
- Marcos Amaro
- Anna Atkins
- Elizabeth B. Brownell
- Eslanda Cardozo Goode Robeson
- Annette Messager
- Angèle Etoundi Essamba
- Hiromix
- Claudia Andujar
- Maureen Bisilliat
- Gretta Sarfaty
- Vilma Slomp
- Claudia Jaguaribe
- Anna Mariani
- Stefania Bril
- Thalita Hamaoui
- Rogério Medeiros
- Rafael Hayashi
- Lázaro Roberto
- Ivald Granato
- Felipe Rezende
- Andrea Brazil
- Darks Miranda
- Flávia Metzler
- Ivan Cardoso
- Yuli Yamagata
- Georg Heinrich von Langsdorff
- Ludwig Riedel
- Néster Rubtsov
- Aimé-Adrien Taunay
- Hercule Florence
- Wilhelmine von Langsdorff
- Francisco Brennand
- José Cláudio
- Flavia Renault
- Belony Ferreira
- Mestre Didi
- Paulo Pedro Leal
- Alberto Henschel
- Tuğçe Tuna
- Monica Bonvicini
- Candeger Fürtun
- Lukas Wassmann
Institutions
- Istanbul Biennial
- Istanbul Modern
- Galeria Galatea Salvador
- Nara Roesler
- Museu de Arte do Espírito Santo (MAES)
- Sesc Sorocaba
- CAIXA Cultural São Paulo
- Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil Belo Horizonte (CCBB BH)
- MASP
- Janaina Torres Galeria
- FAMA Museu
- IMS - Instituto Moreira Salles
- 10×10 Photobooks
- Simões de Assis
- Galeria Estúdio Reverso
- NND|Azeco
- DAN Galeria
- Casa de Cultura do Parque
- Biblioteca Brasiliana Guita e José Mindlin - USP
- Instituto Hercule Florence
- Documenta Pantanal
- Instituto Moreira Salles (IMS)
- Centro Maria Antônia da USP
- Galeria Nara Roesler - SP
- Fonte
- Carmo Johnson Projects
- Itaú Cultural
- Pina Luz
- Centro de Pesquisa e Formação do Sesc
- Getty Research Institute
- Museo Reina Sofía
- Rijksmuseum
- New York Public Library
- Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF)
- Ilê Asipá
- Ateliê Marlene Barros
- Coletivo ZBM
- Phi Projetos
- Cinnamon
- Movimento Grevista Negro
- Coleção Jorge M. Pérez
- El Espacio 23
- Instituto de Cultura Contemporânea (ICCo)
- Venice Biennale
- Danish Pavilion
- Nordic Pavilion
- ArtReview Asia
Locations
- Istanbul
- Turkey
- Denmark
- Berlin
- Germany
- Norway
- Egypt
- Salvador
- Brazil
- Bahia
- Pernambuco
- São Paulo
- Recife
- Olinda
- Vitória
- Espírito Santo
- Sorocaba
- Nova York
- USA
- Tóquio
- Japan
- Mumbai
- India
- Pequim
- China
- Jacarta
- Indonesia
- Belo Horizonte
- Minas Gerais
- La Puntana
- Argentina
- Gran Chaco
- Paraguay
- Campo Grande
- Mato Grosso do Sul
- Itu
- Fortaleza
- Ceará
- Rio de Janeiro
- Los Angeles
- Madri
- Spain
- Amsterdã
- Netherlands
- Lorena
- Alameda Lorena
- Jardim Paulista
- Vila Nova Conceição
- Boaçava
- Alto de Pinheiros
- Bela Vista
- Bom Retiro
- Cidade Universitária
- Porto Feliz
- Amazonas
- Mato Grosso
- Grão-Pará
- Pantanal
- Santo Antônio da Patrulha
- Rio Grande do Sul
- Algarve
- Portugal
- Aveiro
- Santiago
- Porto
- Cameroon
- France
- England
- UK
- South Africa
- Asia
- South America
- Europe