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International Art Center sets out to place Üsküdar on İstanbul art map
The first exhibition at the center, “Origami Rose,” is a mixed show that brings together 180 works by 80 artists from Turkey and abroad. Featuring a wide variety of art pieces in an assortment of techniques, including glass, ceramics and sculpture, the show will remain on view until March 26.
New place, new concept
“We aim to bring artists and people together at our center,” says Hafize Uncuoğlu, a glassblowing artist and founder of the International Art Center, in an interview with Today’s Zaman. “We have a certain concept both in artistic and academic terms. We believe that artists should share their knowledge with the younger generation because nobody takes his acquisitions to the grave.
“This place was previously my own workshop,” Uncuoğlu says, explaining the process of how the place turned into a gallery. “But as I visited exhibitions in very small spaces, I was inclined to turn this place into an art gallery where exhibitions of painting, glass, ceramics and sculptures can be hosted in addition to holding workshops and other creative activities involving artists. And finally, this is the outcome. But, of course, we spent a lot of effort on this in a very short time, somewhere around six months.”
The International Art Center is located in a neighborhood where an art gallery would not be the first thing one would expect to run into. “We are aware of this situation because it is not Teşvikiye or Beyoğlu or any place on the city’s European side,” says Uncuoğlu. “Since we wanted cultural events to take place on the Asian side as well, we believe people should finally accept that this side of the city is part of İstanbul, too. We say İstanbul is a 2010 European Capital of Culture, but we almost always go to the European side for art events.”
Uncuoğlu believes that the art center and the exhibitions and other activities taking place at the center have the potential to transform the neighboring area into a much more central and dynamic location for arts. “The mayor of Üsküdar has also lent us a lot of support,” notes Uncuoğlu. “He was so happy when he learned that we were opening such an art space because he said they were also intending to open a cultural center very close by. Of course, we didn’t know about this previously, but these developments can generate a certain liveliness in the vicinity and encourage others to establish such art spaces here.”
No boundaries
The current show, spanning two galleries at the center, brings together the works of artists such as Kasım Koçak, Orhan Benli, Devrim Erbil, Selahattin Kara, Yılmaz Demirağ, Süleyman Saim Tekcan, Ömer Uluç, Ergin İnan, Bayram Gümüş, Faruk Cimok, Fahri Sümer and Balkan Naci İslimyeli from Turkey and Massimo Franchi, Dino Lucinelli, Laura Migotto, Brigit Huttemann, Claudio Orlandi, Giorgio Pugliese, Paolo Profaizer, Ivan Jakhnagiev and Alexander Jakhnagiev from abroad, as well as a number of glass works and sculptures.
“We didn’t have strict criteria while picking the artists featured in the show,” explains Uncuoğlu. “Our doors are open to any artist who wants to support us. The artists and families of those who have passed away brought their works here for this show and wanted to share the excitement [of the center’s inauguration] with us.”
Uncuoğlu also says she has become the target of criticism because of her attitude. “I’m being criticized much for not discriminating [among artists],” Uncuoğlu says. “They tell me that this attitude will cause a lot of problems, but I didn’t listen to any of them. If it is about art, everyone should be considered equal.”
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