News from artists 1

Recently, I asked all participating artists to inform me about upcoming exhibitions and other interesting news items. And today I received something from Halil. Centre Georges Pompidou has acquired his Dengbejs video, which he made for the last Documenta. Apparently, Halil is the first Turkish artist whose work is part of the collection.

"Dengbejs is about non-western modernities. It’s a 15 minute video, shot from an ironic point of view. At the opening scene of the video we witness a Dengbej ritual in a traditional Mesopotamian setup. The interior of the house is decorated in a typical South-Eastern Turkish style, a region where Kurds are the majority. The Dengbejs, who have been performing as oral historians and myth-tellers for centuries, are presenting their acts. These last representatives of a dying tradition, narrate the untold social and political legends, composed of love, rebellion and tragedies only through their voices.

After documenting the dengbej ritual, the camera travels to the exterior of the house. The video captures a mountain house where the ritual is being held. While the camera zooms out the audience realizes that this very house is not located in the heart of nature but on the top of a mirror-windowed plaza in the center of one of the biggest cities of Turkey, Diyarbakir. The video ends with a bird’s eye view of the chaotic structure of the city."

Surprise dinner

Bas, our production co-ordinator, moonlights as a cook and he showed off his skills at a small dinner party tonight. At the table were Halil, Azra, Nienke (project co-ordinator), Ton (architect and my husband), Bas, Kick (Bas’ son) and me.

Food was great and that always helps getting the conversation going. Contemporary art in Turkey, the political situation (Halil has a Kurdish background), Sinan (Ton is a big fan), and Turkmenistan (Nienke had just seen Shadow of the Holy Book at the IDFA) were just a few of the topics.

Half way through the evening, Halil surprised us all by presenting his proposal for Open Source Amsterdam – sorry, can't reveal anything yet; you’ll have to wait until April 2008. All I can say is that I am delighted!

Rijksakademie

After the cold and wet tour through the Bijlmer, we went straight to the Open Ateliers at the Rijksakademie. The name of the institute is deliberately written with a ‘k’ and not with a ‘c’, because it models itself after the ‘classical Akademia, the place where young an old scientists and artists met to exchange ideas and knowledge.’ I was not very inspired by what was on display, but perhaps that was due to my fatigue.

Halil and Azra met up with Turkish artist Ahmet Ogut, who exhibited at the Open Ateliers (see video still). I ran into Amalia Pica, one of our participating artists, who told me she has some problems deciding on a good location, because she keeps getting lost (I really need to get a good map!). We agreed to walk the route together soon.

I had a couple of beers with Bas in the bar and then went for dinner with Jennifer Tee at a (very bad) restaurant. We discussed her participation in Open Source Amsterdam, the details of the contract and the planning.

Like some of the other artists, Jennifer wondered why I need the sketches by the end of March 2008, while the event opens in May 2009. The reason is that we suspect that it may take a long time to get all the permits sorted out. During the summer months, it is always hard to get things organized, and September would be cutting it close. So I need to present to the local authorities what is going to be where and for how long by May 2008 at the very latest. Art in the public space and red tape go hand in hand in the Netherlands!

Welcome to the Netherlands

When I went to Istanbul Biennial last September, I arrived at Ataturk Airport, went up to the visa counter, paid 10 euro’s and voila, there was my visa. Now I am compiling a set of documents for a Schengen visa for Halil Altindere and Azra Tuzunoglu.

Halil is one of our participating artists. Halil is also a curator and a publisher of magazines and books on contemporary Turkish art. I admire him immensely: his career took off like a rocket, exhibiting at the Istanbul Biennial (1997), the Sao Paolo Biennial (1998), Gwangju Bienniale (2002) and Manifesta 4 (2002). Then he decided to stay in Istanbul and set up an underground art scene as a reaction to the commercialisation of art in Turkey the last couple of years. He now chooses his foreign adventures very carefully, like Documenta 12 (see video still above). You can imagine how pleased I am he will create a work for us.

Azra is an art critic writing for Radikal, a Turkish daily. She is Halil’s girlfriend and comes along as a translator since Halil’s English is not that good and my understanding of Turkish in zero.

Halil, luckily, has a long-term multi-entry Schengen visa. Azra does not. The Netherlands does not provide cultural visas, so we have to apply for a business visa. I checked the website of the Dutch Consulate General in Istanbul and it lists 12 documents that should be handed in. And it can take up to 2 months to process the application. Humph. The red tape and the lack of hospitability of the Netherlands is an embarrassment to me and our organisation.