"Curating Contemporary Art" Seminar Program
Seminar: Curating Live Art: Human and Process
Speaker: Simge Burhanoğlu
Time: 6:00-7:00 pm
This talk focuses on the concept of curating performance art and aims to examine the last 10 years of development of performance art in Turkey from a curatorial perspective. In this context, it will draw on lived experiences through the example of Performistanbul, a performance art platform established in 2016 and operating on an international scale. The discussion will explore Performistanbul’s performances and its collaborations with artists, highlighting how the human- and process-oriented nature of performance art is reflected in curatorial practice. Special attention will be given to long-duration performances, examining the ongoing relationship between artist and curator in managing live processes, as well as the dynamics between performance artists and art institutions. The talk aims to provide a critical evaluation of the evolution of performance art in Turkey, the efforts toward its institutionalization, and the transformation of curatorial approaches within this field. Additionally, topics such as documentation, archiving, presentation, re-performance rights, and the inclusion of performance art in collections will also be addressed within the broader context of live art production.
About Performistanbul
Performistanbul is an international performance art platform founded in 2016 with an initial aim to unite performance artists under one roof. Based in Istanbul, the platform continues to embrace its “spaceless” identity by carrying out a flexible work model which consists of collaborating and developing projects with various art institutions, digital platforms and artists in the world. Performistanbul has realised almost 350 performances with over 150 artists in various locations and institutions, collaborating mostly with museums, galleries, public spaces and international organisa- tions including Gazhane Museum, Pera Museum, SALT, OMM (Eskişehir), IMC 5533 ,Pi Artworks, Loading (Diyarbakır), Istanbul Biennial (2017, 2019, 2022), Tarabya Cultural Academy - Goethe-Institut Istanbul, British Council Turkey, V&A Museum - V&A (London), Tate (London), Caroline Garden’s Chapel (London), International Venice Performance Art Week (2017, 2019, 2020) and Live Art Development Agency (LADA). Performistanbul established Turkey's first Live Art Research Space (PCSAA), in the purpose of making a significant impact on the education and develop- ment of performance art by housing essential resources on live art. Together with PCSAA, Performistanbul Publications was founded to translate foreign sources into Turkish in order to publish them on digital platforms in Turkey and to provide further resources in the field. Performistan- bul launched its first performance art focused artist residency programme in 2020 along with the founding of the first “Performance Art Practices” course in the Performing Arts Department of Istanbul Bilgi University. Finally in 2023, a research group has been established to conduct further research in the field.
About Simge Burhanoğlu
Simge Burhanoğlu is a performance artist, curator, and academic, and the founding director of Performistanbul, an internationally active performance art platform, as well as the Live Art Research Space established under its structure. She also serves as the Chair of the Board of the Performistanbul Performance Art Development Association, on the mental and physical states of the human body in her practice, Burhanoğlu believes in the unifying and transformative power of performance art. After receiving 12 years of classical ballet training, she completed her undergraduate studies in Management of Performing Arts at Istanbul Bilgi University and earned her master’s degree in Ballet Studies from the University of Roehampton in London. She has collaborated with numerous institutions and artists to enhance the visibility of performance art in Turkey. Currently, she teaches Performance Art Practices at Istanbul Bilgi University and continues her curatorial work in search of new forms of expression in 21st-century performance art.
* To learn conditions of participation in a single seminar, we would kindly ask you to send an e-mail to apply@curatingcontemporaryart.org address noting the required seminar details. Single seminar participation fee is 650 TL.