April 2023 – Literature, Culture and Art Program

BOOKS

• Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar, Huzur: Huzur is considered one of the cornerstones of Turkish literature. It reflects the identity problems of the Republican intellectual in the Ottoman culture and civilization. The book is among the Turkish classics to be read, as a novel that is also important with the way Tanpınar conveys the districts, architecture and nature of Istanbul.

• Simon de Beauvoir, The Second Sex: The book has an existentialist perspective on women. The relegation of women to “secondary status” is discussed in The Second Sex. Simone de Beauvoir prefers to use the concepts of “other” and “second sex” to describe this situation. It is one of the source books in feminism and gender studies.

• Umberto Eco, Inventing the Enemy: Although at its core it is thought to be a book of random writings by Eco, in Inventing the Enemy, Umberto Eco builds a process from Cicero to Sartre, concluding that if there is no enemy, this enemy is “created”.

• Hermann Hesse, Trees: In this novel of Hesse, there are poems about the author’s love for trees. The text and poems in the book have been compiled by Volker Michels from the 20-volume edition, which contains all the works of the author. The book is among the works that should be read because of the fact that trees are transferred as a sign by adding another meaning beyond the literal meaning and this transfer carries various messages.

• Harold Bloom, How to Read and Why?: This book is a guide on the act of reading. Bloom conveys the functions and benefits of reading literary texts with his own reading experience, and explains in simple language how books should be read.

MUSIC DISCOVERY OF THE MONTH

• Dekadans, Üç Maymun
• Danger Twins, Incredible
• Christine and the Queens, To Be Honest
• Hozier, Eat Your Young
• Ridsa, Nous Deux

CONCERTS

• London-based band Kerala Dust, which brings together different influences of psychedelic rock, blues and techno, will meet with their fans at Zorlu PSM again on April 8th!

• Yüzyüzeyken Konuşuruz, will take the stage at Babylon on the evening of April 8th!

• Salvatore Adamo will meet with the audience at İş Towers Hall on April 12th, after a long break!

• Teoman will be at Harbiye Cemil Topuzlu Open Air Stage on April 15th!

• One of the most important guitar virtuosos of rock music, Steve Vai will be at Ankara Congresium on April 18th and at the Istanbul Volkswagen Arena on April 19th as part of the European tour of his latest album Inviolate, which he released last year with the Epifoni organization. He will take the stage under the title of his concert series “An Evening with Steve Vai”!

• Marie Sahba, who perfectly combines Iranian and Turkish inspired traditional tones and instruments with the rhythms and production of Scandinavian pop, will be on the stage of IF Beşiktaş on the evening of April 27th!

• Madrigal will be on stage to meet his fans at IF Beşiktaş on April 28th!

MOVIE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE MONTH

• Everything Everywhere all at Once: The production received 7 awards, including “Best Picture” from 11 nominations at the 95th Academy Awards. In the movie many philosophical concepts are examined.

• The Whale: It brought the “Best Actor in a Leading Role” award at the Oscar Awards to Brendan Fraser. The Whale tells the story of a father-daughter in the genre of psychological drama.

• Women Talking: As a drama film written and directed by Sarah Polley, Women Talking is based on the novel by Miriam Toews. It focuses on a religious colony where women live like captives and the film chronicles the process in which the beliefs and hopes of the women change.

• Los Renglones Torcidos de Dios: Adapted from Torcuato Luca de Tena’s novel of the same title, the film is about the events that a private detective encounters when she is hospitalized in a psychiatric hospital to collect evidence about the case she is working on.

• Amsterdam: Directed by David O. Russell and starring Christian Bale and Margot Robbie, the film is on Disney Plus!

• The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King: The movie will be in theaters on April 13-19 with its new extended version special for its 20th anniversary!

FILM FESTIVALS

• 42nd Istanbul Film Festival will be held in 7 theaters, including Atlas 1948 in Beyoğlu, Beyoğlu Cinema, Pera Museum Auditorium, CineWAM Premium & City’s in Nişantaşı and Kadıköy Cinema in Kadıköy and Kadıköy Municipality Cinematheque/Cinema House.

• 3rd International Dystopia Film Festival will be at Üsküdar Bağlarbaşı Congress Culture Center in Istanbul between April 26th and 29th!

THEATRE

• The literary masterpiece of Nazım Hikmet, Memleketimden İnsan Manzaraları, directed by Rutkay Aziz, meets the audience on the Trump Stage on April 5th and at Beylikdüzü Atatürk Culture and Art Center on April 14th!

• Starring Sedef Şahin and Hakan Bilgin, Dönme Dolap will be staged at Duru Theater Ataşehir Watergarden Performance Center on April 18th and at the Tulip Museum on April 29th!

• Saatleri Ayarlama Enstitüsü which was transferred to the theater from Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar’s immortal literary work, will meet the audience on April 12th at Maximum Uniq Hall!

• The story of Rosa Luxembourg, who was 48 years old when she was murdered and who made her mark in the history of the revolution with her courage, curiosity and intellectual knowledge, will be staged at Sahne Drogos on April 26th as Jülide Kural’s one-woman play Ben Rosa Luxemburg!

• The play Richard, adapted and played by Okan Bayülgen from William Shakespeare’s work, will be at Maximum Uniq Hall on April 29th and 30th.

EXHIBITIONS

• Mert Diner’s exhibition titled Uncanny States opens to visitors the artist’s practice of thinking and producing, shaped around uncertainty, knowledge and clarification in recent years, as well as covering up, stains and emptiness. The exhibition can be visited at Art On Istanbul until April 22nd.

• An exhibition of 11 photographers living in Istanbul, titled Istanbuls Today is presenting sections from the city under certain themes, from the youth who took refuge in Istanbul, to living without being marginalized due to the emptiness, loneliness, uncanny, socio-political movements of the city and to the Canal Istanbul project. The exhibit is open to art lovers at Pera Museum until April 30th!

• In Ekin Saçlıoğlu’s exhibition Parçalı, we see a production of a rich variety of materials in different disciplines such as painting, sculpture, design and installation. The exhibit can be visited at ArtSümer until May 6th.

• Zilberman Selected, curated by T. Melis Golar, the exhibition titled Vision, Mission, Values can be seen at its venue in Piyalepaşa until May 13th.

• The exhibition Arkadaşım İçin showcases the state of Ottoman leatherwork and embroidery, and exhibits embroidered letters and briefcases produced for Western diplomats and traders since the end of the 17th century. The exhibition can be visited at the Sadberk Hanım Museum until May 31st.

PODCAST

• Philosophize This!: You can listen to this English podcast channel that makes philosophy more understandable!

• Di-topik Düşünceler: This Turkish podcast channel that you should follow, evaluates fields such as culture, art, architecture, as well as lifestyle and current issues from different perspectives.

Prepared by: Nazperi YILMAZ