MoCA of the Month
santralistanbul
This November we would like to present santralistanbul as MoCA of the month. As one of Turkey’s most comprehensive cultural projects to date, santralistanbul officially opened its doors as part of the Istanbul Bilgi University campus in September 2007. It is situated on the site of the long abandoned Silahtarağa Power Plant built during the Ottoman Empire. While the word “santral” resonates with the English term “central” or “centre” it is actually the Turkish word for “power plant.” The thermal power plant had served as Istanbul’s sole energy source from 1913 until 1952, and was finally shut down in 1983.
The primary objective underlying the conversion of the Silahtarağa Power Plant into santralistanbul was to “make use [of] its productive energy resources, namely information, culture, education and art.”
According to santralistanbul creative energy in the 21st century has been redistributed towards education, information and culture industries and it is this institution’s aim to play a similar transformative role as that which energy did at the turn of the 20th century. The Silahtarağa Power Plant is thus reintroduced into public service as a museum, education and information centre, and aims to “create a space for art production and exhibition, thus emanating and disseminating such energies in their widest scope.”1
Since it’s opening exhibition “Modernism and Beyond” in 2007 this multifaceted institution is not only dedicated to the presentation of contemporary Turkish artists working with a wide variety of media but also offers educational programs for adults and children.
Apart from the Museum of Contemporary Arts, which is situated in an old warehouse annexing the former power plant (now the Energy Museum), the colossal complex, encompassing 118,000sqm, includes university classrooms and departments, a public library, a park, multiple cinemas, a dance hall, open air performance spaces, a multipurpose tent, restaurants, a shopping street, and artists’ residential facilities. The supporters and proprietors see santralistanbul
“as one of the most significant progressive initiatives that Istanbul Bilgi University has undertaken with the mission of assuming a pioneering role in education, culture and arts. In addition to its art- and culture-related activities santralistanbul aims at becoming a comprehensive, critical and interdisciplinary international platform with the purpose of contributing to urban revival within an environment of intercultural dialogue and debate.”2
1 Aksay, Asu, Funda Açıkbaş and Ayşenur Akman: The Story of the Silahtarağa Power Plant. In: Aksay, Asu (Ed.): The Silahtarağa Power Plant: 1910-2004. Istanbul, 2009, p.11
2 Informational brochure santralistanbul
Artist’s residencies and cross-cultural dialogue
At the time of their opening santralistanbul announced that they expect 1.5 million visitors and over 1,000 artists, architects, designers, thinkers, scientists and cultural professionals from Turkey and abroad per year as part of their residency program.1
As an international hub of creative thinking and educational endeavor, santralistanbul regards the International Artists-In-Residence program among their indispensable elements. The program was initiated by a project entitled Light, Illumination and Electricity where eight contemporary artists from European and Mediterranean countries resided at santralistanbul to produce works on the theme of light and electricity in 2007. The outcomes of these investigations were presented throughout the Energy Museum. 2
It is the first university-affiliated institution of it’s kind with such extensive programming. At the time of the opening director Serhan Ada emphasized that there will be an accompanying critical academic program for each arts project or event. It is their mission to invite a researcher, critic or scholar for each artist that is invited. The fact that santralistanbul represents an academic affiliation promises to motivate potential collaborators world-wide who can trust on santralistanbul being “more experimental, critical and analytical about building an institution.”3
Projects
Within the scope of santralistanbul’s mission to create discussion about art and culture among Turkish and international artists and scholars as well as provide artistic encounters and a possibility for interaction and education for socially and economically underprivileged children, many projects have been pursued which include workshops, school programs, conferences, panels, residencies and exhibitions.”4
Apart from the aforementioned project Light, Illumination & Electricity the project Non-Western-Modernities is especially noteworthy in the context of the pursuits of GAM – Global Art and the Museum. This project was designed “for the aim of handling the cultural differences in [a] global plan, providing a new communication platform and developing a common language that social sciences and art would create.” The project’s aim was to examine cultural experience by looking at other cultural experiences rather than following methods that idealize the western perception of modernity. The goal was to orally and visually address different cultural practices and criticisms in workshops and exhibitions in order to “renew the forms of perception regarding modern times.”5
1 Neel-Smith, Sarah: Managing Utopia. Can Santralistanbul realize its grand ambitions? http://universes-in-universe.org/eng/nafas/articles/2007/santralistanbul
2 „santralistanbul Opens!,“ Press release santralistanbul September 2007 www.santralistanbul.org
3 Neel-Smith, Sarah: Managing Utopia. http://universes-in-universe.org/eng/nafas/articles/2007/santralistanbul
4 Informational brochure, santralistanbul
5 see www.santralistabul.org „Projects“
santralistanbul
Eski Silahtaraga Elektrik Santrali
Kazim Karabekir Cad. No: 1 34060 Eyüp Istanbul Turkey
Tel.:+90 (0)2124440428
E-mail: info@santralistanbul.org
Ihsan Bilgin, Emre Arolat Architects, Nevzat Sayın, Han Tümertekin
With the goal of stimulating urban regeneration the Bilgi University chose the site of the Silahtarağa Power Plant specifically because it represented a less-frequented and long neglected neighborhood. With this aim Bilgi University’s project follows the model set by the Tate Modern Museum in London, which spurred an increase in local tourism and general quality of life when it moved into an old factory space in a famously derelict neighborhood by the Thames.1
However, this project is much more extensive as it integrates several adjoining cultural facilities such as the concert hall and residential buildings. This is the third Bilgi University campus, but not the first campus to be built in a less popular district. The Istanbul Biennial pursued a similar programmatic localization in 2005 and 2007.2
The remodeled structure offers contemporary architectural features. The largest contemporary art space, the Main Gallery, covers aprx. 7,000sqm distributed over five levels and was built upon the foundations of the old boiler houses that were torn down once the operations of the Power Plant were terminated in 1983.
The former storage house of the power plant has been remodeled to accommodate alternative art events and is titled “Gallery 1”.“Gallery 1” offers yet another 450sqm of exhibition space divided into four spacious halls.
All in all, the exhibition venues among this gargantuan cultural complex were designed with the objective of fostering a “dynamic and accessible artistic environment where contemporary art can be shared and discussed with the general public” as well as presenting art and offering a platform in which to catalyze cross-cultural collaboration.3
The architects designed the new buildings that are built upon the remnants of the former buildings in the original dimensions with the help of old photographs showing the steam generating water-tube boiler section of the power plant.4
The reinforced concrete buildings, in which the Main Gallery is housed have steel and glass exteriors and are five stories high. The buildings are connected with a glass passage. The galleries are separated through mobile drywalls in gray and white matching the colors of rust and brown. The facades of the buildings are covered with gray-colored aluminum mesh that allows daylight to pass through the interior during the day and, apart from serving as a projection screen, offers a breathtaking sight to behold by night.5
The Dean of the School of Architecture at Istanbul Bilgi University, İhsan Bilgin, oversaw the architectural planning. The architects Nevzat Sayın, Emre Arolat and Han Tümertekin carried out the master plan. The architectural work was completed in three years, although not all parts of the complex were completed by the time of the opening in 2007.6
1 Neel-Smith, Sarah: Managing Utopia. Can Santralİstanbul realize its grand ambitions? http://universes-in-universe.org/eng/nafas/articles/2007/santralistanbul
2 Neel-Smith, Sarah: Managing Utopia. Can Santralİstanbul realize its grand ambitions? http://universes-in-universe.org/eng/nafas/articles/2007/santralistanbul
3 Informational Brochure santralistanbul
4 ISTANBUL, European Capital City of Culture for 2010. Santralistanbul Museum. http://culturecityistanbul.blogspot.com/2009/04/santral-istanbul-museum.html
5 http://culturecityistanbul.blogspot.com/2009/04/santral-istanbul-museum.html
6 http://culturecityistanbul.blogspot.com/2009/04/santral-istanbul-museum.html
Main Gallery (7,000sqm), Gallery 1 (aprx.450sqm), and temporary exhibition spaces throughout the Energy Museum
Mission Statement
Art in new forms, surrounded by social and cultural engagements, refusing to settle into any established medium of expression is now in need of new venues. These venues appear to be not only museums but also institutions to allow practical research and development, creating social vibes and supporting social responsibility.
Combining education, research, production and exhibition facilities in the field of art and cultural studies, santralistanbul aims at becoming a comprehensive, critical and interdisciplinary international platform with the purpose of contributing to urban revival within an environment of intercultural dialogue and debate in addition to its artistic and cultural activities.
Collection
Although santralistanbul did inherit a small collection from the university that is shown on rare occasions, it is explicitly not part of the institution’s aim to establish a permanent collection.
Exhibition Highlights in the Main Gallery
Modern and Beyond
santralistanbul opened with the exhibition Modern and Beyond in September 2007. It was the exhibition’s aim to present and discuss the process of transformation undergone by the artistic production in Turkey in the period between 1950 and 2000, presenting close to 500 artworks by more than one hundred artists and artist groups. The exhibition must be seen as a “selection rather than an all-inclusive breakdown of the fifty-year period.”1
Uncharted: User Frames in Media Arts
This exhibition was followed by Uncharted: User Frames in Media Arts in March-August, 2009. This exhibition was realized in collaboration with the ZKM |Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe, ECAL/University of Art and Design Lausanne as well as independent curators.
This exhibition stressed the important role of artists working with open source programs, creating human-machine-interaction and appropriating technology for artistic purposes. It also highlighted the “arena of creative professional action” and the symbiotic role of artistic output and the technological industry. Many of the artworks have been presented at eminent European media-art festivals such as Transmediale and Ars Electronica which are not only visited by professionals from the cultural sector but also by representatives of the technology and research sector. Thus art immersed in technology also contributes to product development in the technological industry and bears a “potential to influence a great portion of the young population in emerging market economies.”2
Yüksel Arslan Retrospective
The current “Yüksel Arslan Retrospective” opened simultaneously with the 11th Istanbul Biennial. The exhibition represents the first comprehensive exhibition of his body of work since the 1950s, including works from his series’ “Artur©s”, “Capital”, “An Attempt at Updating Capital”, “Influences”, “Autoartures”, “Man”, and “New Influences”; a selection of drawings he made while creating these series, as well as documents portraying the relationships with individuals such as Edouard Roditi, Jean Dubuffet, Roland Topor, Orhan Duru, Ferit Edgü, who had influence on the fruition of his artistic approach and contributed to his theoretical mind set (letters, documents and photographs documenting his relationship with).3
For information about further exhibitions in santralistanbul’s alternative space Gallery 1 see www.santralistanbul.org
1 Informational Brochure of santralistanbul’s publication highlights
2 Informational Brochure of santralistanbul’s publication highlights
3 Informational Brochure of santralistanbul’s publication highlights
Collection Focus
History
The Silatharağa Plant was the first thermal power plant to have been built in Turkey and now serves as an important witness to the Industrial heritage of Turkey. It is situated on a site adjacent to the Bosporus on the tip of the Golden Horn and known as a historic working class neighborhood.1
The redevelopment plan was the idea of Oğuz Özerden, businessman and founder of Istanbul Bilgi University. He succeeded in persuading Prime Minister Erdoğan’s government, and finally obtained the rights from the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources to establish and administer a cultural complex and its third campus on the site of the former power plant. Even though the Chamber of Electrical Engineers Istanbul had submitted plans to build an Electro-Technology park on this site, the ministry of Energy preferred and consented to the santralistanbul project.
Oğuz Özerden warned Prime Minister Erdoğan that some of the artworks might be considered obscene and subversive by the general public and government. Yet, Erdoğan ultimately accepted Özerden’s winning argument that the Justice and Development Party would strengthen its democratic credentials if it were to support the project. Erdoğan personally inaugurated the opening exhibition “Modern and Beyond” in September, 2007.2
The construction of the santralistanbul complex is also part of the preparations for Istanbul as European Cultural Capitol in 2010.3
1 Informational Brochure santralistanbul
2 Marlowe, Lara: „Daring Views of Secular Turkey“ In: Irish Times (16.11.2007)
