Architecture has always been closely related to political projects. Public institutions are the most visible images of this relationship. This has not changed in the Modernist age, despite it being a more democratic period of history; instead, it has been enforced. But modernism is, in fact, idealist and utopian, and based on economic, political, socio-cultural and technological progress, solidarity, social justice and democracy. It envisions perfectly the ideal of a modern political utopia. Monumentality and the spectacular become the characteristic language to express such an utopian vision. Situated in Taksim Square, designed by Hayati Tabanlıoğlu and reconstructed in the early 1970s, AKM is İstanbul’s major public site of cultural and political ceremonial events and performances by the ‘high arts’. Its archetypal socio-modernist style makes it a perfect symbol of the utopian vision of the Turkish Republic: that of a secular, progressive and modern nation-state guided by Atatürk’s farsightedness and political power.

However, this highly interesting edifice is now facing a fatal crisis; it is now under the threat of being gentrified by the force of the neo-liberal economic power, hand in hand with the populist political power. A fancier, ‘post-modern’, probably corporate-like complex is being planned to replace it. Its demise and gentrification are now intensely debated. Its origin is full of irony. Newly constructed, the building was burnt down in 1970 during a performance. A few years later, after huge efforts in reconstruction and conservation, like a phoenix, the building rose from its ashes. AKM is now facing a second round of fire -this time, by the forces of globalization, a neo-liberal economy and political cynicism.

AKM, burn it or not? This is the question.

Indeed, this crisis is a part of a much larger, global tendency. With the end of the Cold War and the prevailing neo-liberal capitalism around the world, numerous buildings representing socialist or social-democratic modernization in various countries are facing the same fate of erasure and gentrification. Interestingly, most of the projects to replace these buildings are designed to erase the memory of certain periods in history -that of social Utopia- in order to validate the neo-conservative order imposed by global capital and populist politics. These ‘new’ visions are systematically conservative, nostalgic and kitsch. This phenomenon can be seen in the demolition of the Palast der Republik in Berlin and Hotel Rossija in Moscow. They are all going to be replaced by ‘classical’ styles: the former will hark back to its original castle-like state, and a Disneyland-like commercial centre will substitute the latter. This trend shows a general tendency to the privatization of public spaces in almost all cities. Further social divisions and conflicts are imminent. It demonstrates the real nature of the new urbanity and social order imposed by the currently dominant forces.

Obviously, a mobilization of social consciousness to resist such a global trend becomes an urgent task. And the art community, with its capacity of critique and envisioning, should be leading the battle. The city should be the battlefield to imagine, test and promote alternative urban and social projects to defend the public sphere and democratic values, namely the values of the Multitude. On the occasion of the 10th International İstanbul Biennial that seeks to engage contemporary art in urban reality, the destiny of the AKM is inevitably a central issue to be dealt with. Bringing artistic interventions and critical visions to the AKM can effectively reintroduce the building to the public, create dialogues and debates on the future of this edifice. This is a ‘natural’ choice for the biennial.

More than 15 artists from different parts of the world are invited to present their works in the AKM. Some works are conceived specifically for the site, based on profound research by artists on the building’s history and reality, and these are linked to more ‘global’ experiences expressed in works by other artists. A kind of concerto of diverse stories and strategies of negotiating with the global trend of urban gentrification and post-utopian reality is being conducted here. Using different languages and media, they inject new energy and vitality to building in crisis.