Photo: Andrea Avezzù

Established in 1895, la Biennale di Venezia has for over a century been one of the most prestigious cultural institutions in the world.

Turkey participated in the International Art Exhibition, la Biennale di Venezia for the first time in 1991 with the personal efforts of Beral Madra, and with the contributions of Turkey’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Beral Madra was the curator and the commissioner of the exhibitions between 1991 and 2001.

In 2003, the Pavilion of Turkey was initiated with a temporary exhibition space rented with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey. The first Pavilion of Turkey, curated and commissioned by Beral Madra, presented the exhibition in Limbo with the participation of Gül Ilgaz, Ergin Çavuşoğlu, Neriman Polat, Nazif Topçuoğlu and Nuri Bilge Ceylan.

In 2005, the video work Absent Presence by Hüseyin Çağlayan featuring Tilda Swinton was exhibited in Palazzo Levi, in the Türkiye Pavilion at the 51st International Art Exhibition. The Pavilion was curated by Beral Madra and coordinated by Murat Pilevneli.

Since 2007, the Pavilion of Turkey has been organised by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts. The artist and the curator of the Pavilion are proposed by Advisory Board that changes every two years.

In 2007, for the 52nd International Art Exhibition, Vasıf Kortun was appointed the curator of the Türkiye Pavilion and invited Hüseyin Bahri Alptekin to realise a project for the Pavilion. Alptekin's installation Don't Complain consisted of five individual cells with semi-arched entrances, each unique.

For the 53rd edition of la Biennale di Venezia, the Advisory Board selected Başak Şenova’s proposal Lapses/* for the Türkiye Pavilion. Lapses/* was shaped by two projects: Exploded City by Ahmet Öğüt, and CATALOG 2009 by Banu Cennetoğlu.

At the Türkiye Pavilion in the 54th International Art Exhibition, Ayşe Erkmen represented Turkey with her work Plan B. The Pavilion of Turkey was curated by Fulya Erdemci, with Danae Mossman as curatorial collaborator.

The Türkiye Pavilion in the 55th International Art Exhibition in 2013 was curated by Emre Baykal who invited Ali Kazma with his work Resistance.

In 2014, on the initiation of the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV) and with the generous support of 21 sponsors, Turkey obtained a long-term venue in la Biennale di Venezia. The allotment of 20 years (from 2014 to 2034) at Sale d’Armi, Arsenale, one of the two main venues of the biennial, allowed the Türkiye Pavilion to take part for the first time in the International Architecture Exhibitions.

The Türkiye Pavilion at the 14th International Architecture Exhibition that ran from 7 June through 23 November 2014 presented the project Places of Memory, performed by the curator Murat Tabanlıoğlu, the project coordinator Pelin Derviş, and the exhibitors Ali Taptık, Alper Derinboğaz, Candaş Şişman, Metehan Özcan and Serkan Taycan.

In 2015, Respiro, a project by the influential conceptual artist Sarkis, curated by Defne Ayas, was presented in the Pavilion at the 56th International Art Exhibition between 9 May and 22 November 2015.

In 2016, the Pavilion at the 15th International Architecture Exhibition featured Darzanà. Curated by Feride Çiçekoğlu, Mehmet Kütükçüoğlu and Ertuğ Uçar, with curatorial collaborators Cemal Emden and Namık Erkal, the exhibition team of Darzanà consisted of Hüner Aldemir, Caner Bilgin, Hande Ciğerli, Gökçen Erkılıç, Nazlı Tümerdem and Yiğit Yalgın.

For the 57th International Art Exhibition, ÇIN by artist Cevdet Erek was presented at the Pavilion that was on view between 13 May and 26 November 2017. Artist Ali Kazma, curator at Arter Başak Doğa Temür, Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation Culture and Art Enterprises General Manager Özalp Birol, Art Advisor at Istanbul Modern Paolo Colombo, and Prof. Dr. Zeynep İnankur from Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University Department of Western and Contemporary Art were among the Advisory Board members.

The Türkiye Pavilion presented Vardiya / The Shift, curated by Kerem Piker, at the 16th International Architecture Exhibition. Vardiya was selected from among the project applications received in response to the open call organised by İKSV. The Selection Committee included Prof. Dr. Sibel Bozdoğan, Levent Çalıkoğlu, Prof. Dr. Arzu Erdem, Prof. Dr. Murat Güvenç, Yeşim Hatırlı, Prof. Dr. Süha Özkan, and Prof. Dr. Uğur Tanyeli. Cansu Cürgen, Yelta Kön, Yağız Söylev, Nizam Onur Sönmez and Erdem Tüzün were Associate Curators of the project.

A new installation by the influential artist İnci Eviner, curated by Zeynep Öz, was presented at the 58th International Art Exhibition, which was held between 11 May and 24 November 2019. The Advisory Board consisted of Serhan Ada from Bilgi University, Department of Arts and Cultural Management, curator at Arter Başak Doğa Temür, Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation Culture and Art Enterprises General Manager Özalp Birol, curator and Art Advisor at Istanbul Modern Museum Paolo Colombo, and Prof. Dr. Zeynep İnankur from Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University Department of Western and Contemporary Art. The 58th edition of the International Art Exhibitions was curated by Ralph Rugoff.

The Türkiye Pavilion presented Architecture as Measure at the 17th International Architecture Exhibition, titled How Will We Live Together?, between 22 May-21 November 2021. Architecture as Measure was curated by Neyran Turan. Assistant curators were E. Ece Emanetoğlu, Melis Uğurlu, Betsy Clifton, and Samet Mor. The editorial assistant was Ian Erickson.

Once upon a time…, a new installation by the pioneer of Turkish contemporary and conceptual art Füsun Onur was presented at the Pavilion in the 59th International Art Exhibition. Commissioned and produced by İKSV, the exhibition was curated by Bige Örer and held between 23 April and 27 November 2022. The accompanying book and the production of the artwork was supported by SAHA Association.

Sponsors of the Türkiye Pavilion

The Türkiye Pavilion is realised under the auspices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Turkey.

In 2007, the Türkiye Pavilion in the International Art Exhibition was realised with the sponsorship of Garanti Bank, while in 2009, İKSV coordinated the pavilion with its own means. Sponsored by Fiat in 2011, 2013 and 2015, the Türkiye Pavilion in the International Art Exhibitions was realised with the production support of SAHA Association. Initiated in 2007, the Friends of the Türkiye Pavilion Programme has also contributed to the realisation of the pavilion in 2011.

The Türkiye Pavilion in the 14th International Architecture Exhibition in 2014 was co-sponsored by Schüco Türkiye and VitrA, with the production support of Häfele. The Türkiye Pavilion in the 15th International Architecture Exhibition was realised with the co-sponsorship of Schüco Türkiye and VitrA, and the production support of Competenza. The Türkiye Pavilion in the 17th International Architecture Exhibition was realised once again with the co-sponsorship of Schüco Türkiye and VitrA.

The Türkiye Pavilion at the 59th International Art Exhibition was realised with the production and publication support of SAHA Association and the airline partnership of Turkish Airlines. The exhibition was also supported by Abdi İbrahim, Akbank, Akfen Holding, Mey|Diageo, Sevil Dolmacı, Füsun-Faruk Eczacıbaşı, Oya-Bülent Eczacıbaşı, Ahu-Can Has, Emin Hitay, Vuslat Doğan Sabancı-Ali Sabancı, Rana-Erol Tabanca, Sinan Tara and Z. Yıldırım Family. Additionally, Beykoz Kundura provided venue support during the preparations of the exhibition.

The individuals and institutions who supported İKSV in obtaining a permanent venue for the pavilion in Venice were Akbank, Mehveş-Dalınç Arıburnu, Berrak-Nezih Barut, Ali Raif Dinçkök, Vuslat Doğan Sabancı & Ali Sabancı, Füsun-Faruk Eczacıbaşı, Oya-Bülent Eczacıbaşı, Nesrin Esirtgen, Eti Gıda San. ve Tic. AŞ, Garanti BBVA, Ahu-Can Has, Öner Kocabeyoğlu, MAÇAKIZI, Tansa Mermerci Ekşioğlu, Rana-Erol Tabanca, SAHA Association, Taha Tatlıcı, Sinan Tara, Vehbi Koç Vakfı, Zafer Yıldırım and Yıldız Holding AŞ.

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