Intro

Salon für Kunstbuch 21er Haus, Vienna

At a point, as we were just standing there, ‘something’ else began. We were on the streets. Side by side. We didn’t even know each other, but we were side by side. We were there. This was the hope itself. The spirit of solidarity, the challenge, standing side by side…. Then, nothing changed. We clammed up. … Now, we are tired. Is it possible to remember this hope? We have to start somewhere.“ (Selda Asal)

The exhibition “Stay with me” assembles notebooks and journals created by more than 60 artists in the context of experiences they had during the protests at Gezi Park in Istanbul in 2013. In the spring of 2013, protests against urban planning measures for the square occurred at Gezi Park. During the following week, a wave of demonstrations spread over Taksim square and seized the whole country. People organized in a decentralized manner and gathered for more than 5,000 events, around 3.5 million took to the streets. The demonstrations which were suppressed using extraordinary amounts of violence left eleven dead and more than 8,000 injured. Since the summer of 2013, the inner political situation has continued to aggravate. Is it possible to keep the hope of the time alive?

The exhibits on show allow to discern the different approaches open to an art rooted in self-assertion: retaining the magic of shared moments, capturing the menace on paper, projecting oneself to a different place, remembering experiences through abstraction.

“Stay with me” was initiated by artist Selda Asal, a visual artist, born in Izmir. Studies in Musicology and Art. She initiated the “Apartment Project” in Istanbul and is currently living in Istanbul and Berlin.

With contributions by: Ali Miharbi, Anti-Pop, Aslı Çavuşoğlu, Ata kam, Ayşe Küçük, Azra Deniz Okyay, Balca Ergener & Meltem Ahıska, Berkay Tuncay, Burçak Bingöl, Carla Mercedes Hihn, Ceren Oykut, Christine Kriegerowski, Çiğdem Hasanoğlu, Devrim Ck, Devrim Kadirbeyoğlu, Didem Erk, Eda Gecikmez, Ekin Saçlıoğlu, Elif Çelebi, Elmas Deniz, Endam Acar & Fırat Bingöl, Erdağ Aksel, Erhan Öze, Erdem Helvacıoğlu, Eser Selen, Fatma Belkıs, Fatma Çiftçi, Ferhat Özgür, Figen Aydıntaşbaş, Fulya Çetin, Genco Gülan, Gonca Sezer, Gökçe Süvari, Gökhan Deniz, Göksu Kunak, Gülçin Aksoy, Gül Kozacıoğlu, Gümüş Özdeş, Güneş Savaş & Eren Yemez, Güneş Terkol, Gözde İlkin, Hale Tenger, Hubert Sommerauer, İnci Furni, İpek Duben, Kınay Olcaytu, Melike Kılıç, Merve Çanakçı, Merve Şendil, Mischa Rescka, Murat Tosyalı, Nalan Yırtmaç, Nancy Atakan, Nazım Dikbaş, Neriman Polat, Nick Flood, Nurcan Gündoğan, Onur Ceritoğlu, Onur Gökmen, Özgür Atlagan & Bengi Güldoğan, Özgür Demirci, Özgür Erkök Moroder, Özge Enginöz, Rüçhan Şahinoğlu, Raziye Kubat, Sabine Küpher Büsch & Thomas Büsch, Seda Hepsev, Seçil Yersel, Sena Başöz, Senem Denli, Sevim Sancaktar, Sevil Tunaboylu, Sevgi Ortaç, Suat Öğüt, Sümer Sayın, Şafak Çatalbaş, Ulufer Çelik, Yaprak Kırdök, Yasemin Özcan, Yasemin Nur, Yavuz Parlar, Yeşim Ağaoğlu, Zeyno Pekünlü