Venice is geographically the capital city of the Veneto region of Italy. If you visualize Italy as a long boot on a world map, it is actually a lagoon lake, mostly marshland, which is home to the Po and Piave rivers, which flow into the Adriatic Sea, in the area behind the kneecap - that is, in the northeast of Italy. It is thought to have about 118 islands, 170 canals and 417 bridges, although this is still not entirely agreed. 300 of the bridges are made of stone, 60 of iron and 57 of wood. About 72 of the bridges are privately owned.
Between May 5-9, 2024, Venice Art and History trip was organized with the participation of Elgiz Museum museum friends within the framework of the “Marco Polo 700” project.
We gathered with our group at the hotel where we were staying and set off to the Guggenheim Museum, which would be the first stop of our trip.
In the permanent collection of the Peggy Guggenheim Museum, which includes the works of the most important names of the art world's art movements such as futurism, surrealism and abstract expressionism; we saw the works of many important artists such as Max Ernest, Jackson Pollock, Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso, George Braque, Vasily Kandinsky and Alberto Giacometti.
After our visit to the museum, we went to Mr & Mrs Marzottu's house with its magnificent collections for a cocktail for our group. Mrs. Marzotto has been the President of Fondazione Marzotto Ente Morale since 2012, a member of the Scientific Committee of VIDAS since 1999 and the President of Progetto Musica Associazione Culturale Artistica since 2019.
MAY 7, 2024 “MARCO POLO 700” CONFERENCE
A series of events on both art and history were organized between May 5-9, 2024 in cooperation with the T-ONE Association, Elgiz Museum and the Municipality of Venice, with the transportation sponsorship of Turkish Airlines. On Tuesday, May 7, 2024, Prof. Dr. İlber Ortaylı, Turkish historian, Academician, Author and Chairman of the Advisory Board of the T-ONE Association, in collaboration with Universita Ca'Foscari and author, academic Pieralvise Zorzi, gave a talk on Marco Polo Venice-Istanbul at Scuola Grande San Teodoro and the speakers gave the participants information about Marco Polo's stay in Istanbul. They offered the opportunity to discover how Polo built the cultural bridge between East and West, opened trade routes and introduced Europe to the riches of Asia.
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On the same day, at 12:00, the international cultural project “Alphabet Marco Polo”, Venezia - Istanbul was inaugurated by Prof. Dr. İlber Ortaylı and the Mayor of Venice, Luigi Brugnaro, at the Palazzo Moncenigo “Museum and Research Center for the History of Fabrics, Costumes and Perfumes” in Venice.
A total of 10 schools from the districts of Venezia, Marghera and Oriago of Mira, representing 14 Venetian schools, and Ita schools, Lütfi Banat and Evrim Schools from Turkey participated in the project.
The story of Marco Polo is told through 92 colorful paintings produced by thousands of children. Each letter is associated with a word that describes the young traveler's arrival in Istanbul or his ambassadorship as an ambassador of peace and culture.
Venedik Bienali
Founded in 1895 and considered one of the world's most prestigious and distinguished cultural institutions, the Venice Biennale is organized every two years, one year for art and one year for architecture. The biennale, which usually runs from April to November, also includes dance, music, theater and film events.
The 60th International Art Exhibition titled “Strangers Everywhere”, curated by Adriano Pedrosa, will take place between April 20 and November 24, 2024. Adriano Pedrosa explains that this phrase has two meanings. First, wherever you go and wherever you are, you will always encounter strangers - strangers are everywhere. Secondly, wherever you find yourself, deep down you are always a foreigner. So, the concepts of migration, exile, refugeeism, marginalization, as well as alienation from oneself and one's environment, draw the main conceptual framework.
The Biennale features 331 artists and collectives from 80 countries, including Hong Kong, Palestine and Puerto Rico.
The Turkey Pavilion of the Venice Biennale, coordinated by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts, features the biennial-exclusive works of Gülsün Karamustafa, whose more than 50 years of artistic practice, which has profoundly influenced Turkish contemporary art and earned her a respected place in the world, focuses on painting, installation, video and performance, and addresses issues such as migration, locality, identity, cultural difference and gender. Gülsün Karamustafa is one of the most influential artists for younger generations. Her installation Hollow and Broken: A State of the World. “Hollow and Broken: A State of the World”.
Upon entering the exhibition space, the dimensions of which Karamustafa likens to the historic Hippodrome in Istanbul, visitors are greeted by three impressive chandeliers made of Venice's famous Murano glass, suspended from the ceiling. Each chandelier represents a monotheistic faith - Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Wrapped in barbed wire, these luminous symbolic objects symbolize the historical tensions and conflicts between religions.
The pavilion also features hollow plastic molds of columns at different heights. These molds, which can only stand with the help of supports, contrast with columns, which traditionally evoke triumph and endurance, and embody the feelings of emptiness and brokenness that the exhibition addresses. The space also features wagons loaded with pieces of waste Murano glass.
The Turkey Pavilion at the Venice Biennale is an exciting platform for Turkey to represent the world of art and architecture internationally. This journey, which has been ongoing since 2003, introduces Turkish culture and creativity to the world by showcasing the unique perspectives of different artists and curators every year.
Nil Yalter received the Golden Lion Lifetime Achievement Award at the biennial for her work “Şu Gurbetlik Zor Zanaat Zor”. Şu Gurbetlik Zor Zanaat Zor is an ongoing project by Nil Yalter, featuring a series of immigrant posters dating back to the 1970s with the same slogan. The work takes its title from a poem by Nâzım Hikmet, who spent many years in exile in Russia.
BASIN YANSIMALARI
ISTANBUL APR 22, 2024 - 9:16 AM GMT+3
EDITED BY BUSE KESKIN
In honor of the 700th anniversary of the legendary Venetian merchant, explorer and writer Marco Polo's death, Venice is orchestrating a series of art and history events. Marco Polo's legacy, shaped by his explorations and travel diaries, has left an indelible mark on world history.
Venice is convening both local and foreign artists, historians, and culture enthusiasts to commemorate this eminent historical figure and celebrate his enduring influence. Within this initiative, the Türkiye Joint Generations Integration Association (T-ONE) has launched another of its Italy events, spotlighting the renowned Genoese Trade Route in a project titled "Trading Posts and Fortifications on Genoese Trade Routes. From the Mediterranean to the Black Sea."
The T-ONE Association, in collaboration with the Elgiz Museum in Ankara and the Venice Municipality with the sponsorship of Turkish Airlines (THY), will host a series of events on both art and history from May 5 to 9. Also the Turkish historian, academic, writer and chair of the advisory board of the T-ONE Association, professor Ilber Ortaylı, in collaboration with Universita Ca’Foscari, will deliver a speech at Scuola Grande San Teodoro in Venice, specifically focusing on Marco Polo's journey from Venice to Istanbul, accompanied by author and academician Pieralvise Zorzi.
The speakers will provide insights into Polo's time in Istanbul, exploring how he built a cultural bridge between East and West, opened trade routes, and introduced the riches of Asia to Europe.
Additionally, an exhibition will be organized in Venice on May 7, with the opening by the Mayor of Venice. The project, initiated by Nadia De Lazzari, President of the Venice Peace Fish Association (La Pesce di Pace), is supported by the Venice Authorities, under the auspices of the Council of Europe and with the support of the Venice Municipality. It will be a painting exhibition themed "Children for World Peace," featuring artworks by Turkish, Lebanese, Greek, and Venetian children.
The opening will be attended by the Mayor of Venice Luigi Brugnaro and professor Ilber Ortaylı.
In her opening speech, T-ONE Association President Demet Sabancı Çetindoğan said: "One of my most important missions is to contribute to global peace by highlighting our cultural similarities and historical commonalities. With this idea in mind, through our T-ONE Association, which I founded, we strive to convey that the cultural richness in my country and my region belongs to the whole world and that we all draw from the same source. T-ONE Association is established to serve the common values of world civilization and to facilitate the establishment of a universal world culture. Our mission is to build bridges between Türkiye and other countries of the world, preserving both traditional and contemporary values and contributing to the future of our country."
"Preservation of cultural heritage is the responsibility of all humanity. Strengthening, preserving, and passing on historical artifacts to future generations is the way to build our future on solid foundations. Understanding, interpreting, researching, and examining history correctly is essential. In this regard, we continue to collaborate internationally in the social and cultural field with organizations such as the United Nations, UNESCO, the Council of Europe, and Europa Nostra," she added.
T-ONE Association vice president and founder of the Elgiz Museum, Sevda Elgiz, stated that the exhibition titled "Sea and Sky of Peace" designed by the president of Pesce di Pace, Nadia De Lazzari, was opened on May 23 at the Elgiz Contemporary Art Museum in Istanbul. Paintings drawn by four children from different countries and cultures (Italy, Türkiye, Lebanon and Greece) at different times were exhibited at our museum.
The Venetian leg of this exhibition will be organized on May 7 in collaboration with the association's art committee, the Elgiz Museum, and the Pesce di Pace Association, with the participation of the mayor of Venice, at the opening event to be held at Palazzo Mocenigo.
Özalp Birol, chair of the T-ONE Association's Art Committee, said: "To increase awareness of Turkish contemporary art and promote Turkish artists abroad, our Art Committee ensured the participation of Turkish artists in an international exhibition titled 'Crime Of Adolf Loos' held at the Axel Vervoordt Gallery in the center of Antwerp on March 13."
The exhibition focused on the modernist perspective of Adolf Loos, who stirred controversies in the architecture and art world in the early 20th century with the statement ornament is a crime.
A total of 14 artists participated in this international exhibition, with four Turkish artists, Fahrelnissa Zeid, Nilbar Güreş, Aslı Çavuşoğlu and Cansu Çakar, showcasing their works. The curation of the exhibition and the selection of artists were carried out by the globally renowned Alistair Hicks.
Other artists featured in the exhibition include Nikita Alexeev, El Anatsui, Zheng Guogu, Kamrooz Aram, Ilya and Emilia Kabakov, Anish Kapoor, Waqas Khan, Kimsooja, Shozo Shimamoto and the Yangjiang Group.
T-ONE Association advisory board member and archaeologist-editor Nezih Başgelen evaluated Marco Polo's travels in the Far East between 1276 and 1291, and the years spent alongside Kublai Khan, based on the information contained in his travelogue "The Travels of Marco Polo." He emphasized Polo's contribution to the development of history, ethnography and geography during his 17-year journey in Eastern countries.
"This work, dictated to his friend Rustichello da Pisa while he was imprisoned in Genoa between 1298 and 1299, contained adventures that were astonishing to Europe due to the novelty of the information regarding the East. Marco Polo and his companions landed in Yumurtalık, known as Ayas, where they crossed the territories of present-day southeast Anatolia, Mesopotamia, Iran, Turkestan, the Pamir Mountains, the Gobi Desert and China. The travelogue, which provided fascinating information, played a significant role in shaping the imaginary, rich image of the East and the Far East and inspired explorers like Christopher Columbus. The travelogue also provides valuable insights into the Turkic and Islamic worlds of that period. Marco Polo, who died in 1324, was buried in the San Lorenzo Church in Venice, and it is known that his last words were, 'I have not told half of what I saw, for no one would have believed me,'" he said.
Hürriyet 12 Mayıs 2024
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