CURATORIAL THEME FOR 15TH ISTANBUL BIENNIAL ANNOUNCED

Titled ‚a good neighbour’ and curated by artist duo Elmgreen & Dragset the exhibition will deal with multiple notions of home and neighbourhoods, exploring how living modes in our private spheres have changed throughout the past decades. „Home is approached as an indicator of diverse identities and a vehicle for self-expression, and neighbourhood as a micro-universe exemplifying some of the challenges we face in terms of co-existence today,” the curators explained in the press conference.
Photographs by Turkish artist Ali Taptık were projected behind 40 performers posing the question, what it means to be a good neighbor at the press conference. The photos are part of a series he produced in Istanbul in relation to the theme.

The biennial will be accompanied by an international billboard campaign, created by graphic designer Rupert Smyth together with artists. The campaign, which will be realised through collaborations with multiple cultural institutions worldwide, questions the ways in which neighbourhoods have changed all around the world. The 15th Istanbul Biennial will take place between 16 September and 12 November 2017.