(Tuesday 8th December 2020: Istanbul, Turkey): ‘Istanbul The Lights’ is the inaugural outdoor light festival launching today, providing the city with a new reason to celebrate at the end of what has been a challenging year for many. For the month of December until early next year, spectacular art installations will be placed around the city centre, set to light it up as part of Contemporary Istanbul Foundation’s mission to bring the community together safely, in a setting where social distancing can still be observed while creating moments of joy this festive season.
A collection of more than 50 art installations make up the festival and include a range of sculptures and works from over 35 talented artists based both locally and abroad, including Güvenç Özel, Ouchhh, and Memo Akten. The light displays form a circuit around the cultural capital with installations in Taksim Square, Macka Park, Besiktas Square, and Istanbul International Airport.
Co-curators of Istanbul The Lights, Esra Özkan and Ayça Okay, set out to use the festival to create a dialogue between art and society that delights the city in unexpected ways. The festival sees the takeover of subway and city screens, shopping mall screens and public spaces.
’We wanted to take the everyday places that locals know, and visitors frequent to create something extraordinary, where they might not be suspecting it – to fill their daily lives with art and light,’ say Özkan and Okay.
Art collective ‘Under1Min’ are creators of the star attraction with their behemoth circular structure made of LED screens, called ‘The Borders’, aptly situated at the Istanbul Airport. Blurring the boundaries between art and technology, Augmented Istanbul is also a key project – a collection of AR based sculptures, created by 17 leading artists on a mission to build a bridge between technology, sculpture, and painting.
Contemporary Istanbul Foundation Founder, Ali Gureli, says: ‘We are so pleased that the CIF is able to forge a new annual event for all to experience safely, while supporting the arts at this time. We hope that this festival gives the people of Istanbul another reason to celebrate this New Year.’
Ekrem İmamoğlu, Mayor of Istanbul, says: “I have no doubt that ‘Istanbul The Lights’ will continue to
add quality to the urban culture with its works, messages, signs and symbols in the coming years. Istanbul needs these and similar events that develop and nurture its cultural dynamics. Moreover, it is actually Istanbul that obliges us to do this. Because this is a city of culture.
It is a city that has strong cultural indicators, and can demonstrate its creative and productive character. We act with the vision of Istanbul that produces works in every field of art. This is not adding a different feature or attaching importance to Istanbul, but getting to know Istanbul.
In an artistic sense, it shows that it is a city that can produce even under pandemic conditions. We see this in the ‘Istanbul The Lights’ project. This project shows that Istanbul can give messages to the world during the pandemic.
We know that art and culture do not like rigidity. On the contrary, they support pluralism, interaction and freedom. They can only survive in these environments. We look at culture and art from this perspective. We never want to produce works in a narrow-minded space or to look at the
world from only a certain window. We know that art is subjective, a reflection of humanity and society, and a sign of civilization. Our effort is to create a climate that will both revive Istanbul’s creativity and unite communities.
The participatory and liberal climate I have just mentioned for the development of art and culture is actually a great risk for the entire world. Every individual should be concerned in the face of this threat.
The pandemic, which forced societies and even individuals to be isolated and withdrawn, further exacerbated the existing racism trend. We are sadly following the reflections of this primitive way of thinking. The world has turned its face away from the identities that it does not belong to, and its ears away from the ideas it does not agree with.
We must strengthen such concepts as democracy, participation, pluralism and respect for beliefs. Art can be doomed to a drought with this primitive point of view. However, art does not discriminate. On the contrary, it is unifying. Our effort is to create a climate that will both revive Istanbul’s creativity and unite communities. All executives, authors and opinion leaders in our country and the world should work to strengthen this climate.
I congratulate Contemporary Istanbul and all the artists who have produced works and thank each and every of you for your interest in the project.”
Istanbul The Lights will take place from Monday 7th December 2020 – Sunday 3rd January 2021. For more information on the festival, including a map, please visit www.IstanbulTheLights.com
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