The "Istanbul Diaries" exhibition, which features works by artists from Bangladesh, Poland, Iran and Turkey, met with art lovers at the Bağımız Art Foundation.
The exhibition, which emerged as a result of a workshop in Istanbul where artists from different countries came together, was curated by Independent Art Foundation Board Chair and painter Hülya Yazıcı, and features works by artists such as Ruşen Eşref Yılmaz, Jubayyer Hossain, Müfit İşler, Reyhun Jabari, Nuran Çetinoğlu, Ana Silvia Mahado, Shamina Anam Poly, Rıfkı Demirelli, Figen Batı, Asif Uz Zaman, Ahmet Özel and Fatma Yıldız.
Yazıcı, in his statement to AA correspondent, stated that the idea of the exhibition was based on artist Ahmet Özel, and said, "It is a beautiful work in terms of both cultural exchange and the information they have gained from each other about painting techniques, integration and friendship. Bangladesh, in particular, is a country with limited opportunities. We tried to introduce the artists there here, to undertake this in Turkey as a country that can be a bridge to the West and open up to the world."
Yazıcı, who stated that the exhibition emerged after a one-week workshop process, noted the following:
"We had beautiful hours and minutes. We could not spare much time for painting either. We worked together for long hours. We have artists with different techniques. Therefore, there is no unity, it is a mixed exhibition in terms of technique. We have thirteen artists in total. More artists from Turkey participated and an interaction emerged. Both they and we are pleased with this encounter."
Yazıcı stated that during this process, the artists got to know Istanbul on one hand and said, "They had the opportunity to observe the architecture and history of Istanbul. We mostly visited the venues in the Historical Peninsula and tried to reflect them. We gave each artist four canvases. It is not possible for them to reflect our works with very important architectures such as Hagia Sophia, Sultanahmet and Süleymaniye photographically, but they tried to show them as they improvised and came from within."
Iranian artist Reyhun Jabari stated that he has been living in Istanbul for eight years and said, "I chose the Maiden's Tower. When I looked at it in the morning, I thought it had a nostalgic appearance. I used to live in Cihangir and I was alone. When I looked at the Maiden's Tower, the things I felt during that process came to my mind. We all worked together here and it went very well. Working with people from different cultures was beneficial for us. There were moments when we were influenced by each other and nourished each other. We encountered different cultures, languages and feelings."
source:https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/kultur/istanbul-gunlukleri-sergisi-bagimiz-sanat-vakfinda-acildi