curated theme

Kısmet

Through the lens of Turkish visual culture

How do different generations of Turkish image-makers give shape to the worlds they live in? With shared heritage as the starting point, multi-year project Kısmet explores the complex and rich perspectives of Turkish visual culture. Initiated by the longstanding cultural, diplomatic and economical connections between Turkey and the Netherlands, Kısmet was created by artist Ahmet Polat and further developed with Foam.
Dad And Omani Friends, November 2018 © Olgaç Bozalp.
After Anahit, 2023 © Ece Gökalp, courtesy of the artist.

The Start of Something

by Gülşah Ayla Bayrak

at MAQAM

How do you convey the experience of Orientalism through images? How is it represented in our daily lives? In the exhibitionThe Start of Something, Gülşah Ayla Bayrak aims to answer these questions by translating Orientalism's experience, emotion, and ideas into pictures, performances, and objects.

The Start of Something by Gülşah Ayla Bayrak is exhibited at MAQAM until 18 June.

read more here
Techno Odalsique © Gülşah Ayla Bayrak.

The Coffee Reading: Tales of the Afro Turkish Diaspora

For the first edition of the visual podcast The Coffee Reading, Studio Polat and Foam invited three members from the Africans' Culture and Solidarity Society in Izmir to share their story through the ritual act of drinking and reading Turkish coffee.

watch the video here
Ahmet Sezer being photographed by his son Ahmet, Dark Moon - Tales of the Afro Turkish Diaspora 2005 - 2022 © Studio Polat
Durmuš Ali Delibas in Izmir Dark Moon Tales of the Afro-Turkish Diaspora, 2005-2022 © Ahmet Polat.
Ahmet Sezer being photographed by his son Ahmet, Dark Moon Tales of the Afro-Turkish Diaspora, 2005-2022 © Ahmet Polat.
Emir Ayse Kara Yavas photographed in Dalaman in 2009, Dark Moon Tales of the Afro-Turkish Diaspora, 2005-2022 © Ahmet Polat.

Podcast with Cemre Yeşil and Ahmet Polat

Photographer Cemre Yeşil's long-term work ‘Double Portrait’ examines the relationship between mother and child through different lenses. Together with Ahmet Polat, director of Studio Polat and co-curator of Kısmet, they reflect on their professional connection, Cemre’s extended artistic practice and the Turkish photography scene.


Discover Cemre Yeşil's digital exhibition Double Portrait

From the series Double Portrait, 2021 © Cemre Yeşil
, courtesy of the artist.

The project Double Portrait examines the relationship between mother and child through different lenses. It deals with topics such as identity, loss, and memory. The work questions the traditions of portraiture and explores the psychological aspects of photography. 

This interactive space designed by  expands the Double Portrait experience and invites the reader to relate it from an entirely different, but a familiar perspective.

Foam is supported by de VriendenLoterij, Foam Members, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, the VandenEnde Foundation and Gemeente Amsterdam.

black and white image of a bust

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Kısmet