4-week of art history classes by Marcus Graf continues with the topic "Modern & Contemporary Art in Turkey". This course examines the artistic development up to 1950s in Turkey. In this context, new topics, disciplines and approaches emerged in the process of transition from Modern Art to Contemporary Art are discussed.

"Theories and Practices of Contemporary Art" training course prepared by curator, instructor and writer Prof. Dr. Marcus Graf digs into different formal, aesthetic and conceptual approaches in contemporary art. In the globalizing world, contemporary artists who reflect, criticise rapidly changing social systems are debated with participants on alternative artistic strategies.

MIXER organized a training program in collaboration with & KÜMED (Koç University Alumni Club). The main subject of this 4 session training program is contemporary art with instructors Osman Erden, Marcus Graf and Ebru Yetişkin.

March 7th, Wednesday / Osman Erden / KoçPera / 19:00-21:00

What does Contemporary Art tell us? From 1950's to 80's

It seems the innovative feature of modern art have begun to lose towards the end of the 1950s. There is now another period in the history of art with the pop art movement that first appeared in the UK and then in the US, driven by Andy Warhol. The field of contemporary art begins to vary in content, both with the differences in expression forms and with the 1960s. Yoko Ono, Carolee Schneemann's performances, the emergence of ZERO, which opened a white page against the past in Germany, came together in the USA and established the Coalition of Art Workers, putting corporate criticism into contemporary art and one of the basic materials of art. The first examples of the emergence of antagonism. In the 1970s, conceptual art, body art, land art examples will begin to be seen. The 1970s were also the years when feminism reflected directly on contemporary art. In this seminar, it will be mentioned how contemporary art cherishes from the 1950s to 1980s.

March 14th, Wednesday / Osman Erden / KoçPera / 19:00-21:00

From the 1980s to date: What does Contemporary Art tell us?

In the 1980s, Thatcher is in power in UK, Reagan is in power in the United States, liberty in the economy and conservatism in the cultural arena was popular. This situation has also been found in contemporary art. Art is a strong field for political opposition. The stand against homosexuality, AIDS, consumption culture is the most obvious time of this period. The artists’ coming together in initiatives such as ACT UP! to fight politically are important during these periods. The photographs of Robert Mapplethorpe, the graphs of Keith Haring, the performances of Guerrilla Girls emerged during this period. Félix González-Torres’s art which can be examined with the concept of relational aesthetics, Jeff Koons’ kitsch aesthetics, Young Britisih Artists initiative by Charles Saatchi come to the forefront during the 1990s. This seminar will be discuss in detail how to follow that line of contemporary art from the 1980s to the present day with examples from Turkey.

March, 20th Tuesday / Mixer / 19:00-21:00

Contemporary Art in Turkey with Marcus Graf

This training by Professor Dr. Marcus Graf will take place to discuss the similarities and differences between modern and contemporary art, it will also refer to important institutions and leading figures of the contemporary art scene in Turkey.

March 28th, Wednesday / Ebru Yetişkin / KoçPera / 19:00-21:00

Unforgettable: Media Arts in Turkey

Günümüz bilgisayar ve medya teknolojileri kullanılarak üretilen yeni medya sanatını ele alacak bu oturumda medya teorisyeni ve küratör Doç. Dr. Ebru Yetişkin, günümüz sanatının bilim, politika, felsefe ve teknoloji ile iç içe geçen yönleri hakkında seminer verecek. “Unutulmayanlar: Türkiye’de Medya Sanatları” başlığı altında Türkiye’de üretim yapan medya sanatçılarının çalışmaları keşfedilecek.

Media theorist, academician and curator Ebru Yetişkin will discuss the new media art produced using modern computer and media technologies. Dr. Yetişkin will dig into how today's art is intertwined with science, politics, philosophy and technology. Media artist engaged in production in Turkey will be discovered.

April 21st Saturday / 13:00 – 17:00

Treasure Hunt with Exhibition Tours

In the "Treasure Hunt" event created and run by Mixer, the participants will visit the galleries in the same building and five nearby galleries and listen to the exhibitions and follow the works of art in groups to play a delightful treasure hunting game. The tour includes Mixer, ArtSumer, Gallery Nev, Pi Artworks and Sanatorium.

Dates: 13, 20 February, 6, 13 March 2018

Sanatın toplum için önemine inanan ve ulaşılabilir sanat kültürünü benimseyen Mixer, eğitim programlarına Şubat ayında devam ediyor. Küratör, eğitmen ve yazar Prof. Dr. Marcus Graf’ın vereceği “Neo-Modern Sanat’tan Post-Modern’e” başlıklı seminer dizisi 2. Dünya Savaşı sonrasında görsel sanatlar alanındaki gelişmelere odaklanıyor. 1945 sonrası soyut eğilimlerden başlayarak, 1970'lerin sonuna kadar sürecek olan seminer, akımların çeşitli kavramsal ve formel karakteristiklerini de inceleyerek, çağımız sanatının yorumlanmasına katkıda bulunmayı hedefliyor.

Mixer, who believes in the importance of art for society and embraces an accessible art culture, continues its training programs in February. From Neo-Modern Art to Post-Modern" by curator, instructor and writer Prof. Dr. Marcus Graf focuses on developments in visual arts after World War II. Starting from the abstract tendencies after 1945, to the end of the 1970s, the seminar aims to contribute to the interpretation of the contemporary art by examining the various conceptual and formal characteristics of that period.

March 22nd and March 29th 2018

ArtWriting activities are going on with a workshop that is held in parallel to the exhibition "Tesbihte Hata Olmaz!"

The possibilities of alternative approaches such as interpreting single works and standard exhibition criticism, establishing relations with different art branches especially in literature, will be discussed with the participants. The session will be moderated by Kültigin Kağan Akbulut and exhibition artists (Bengisu Bayrak, Leyla Emadi and EMIRHAKIN). The two-session-workshop aims to bring together participants from different disciplines. The first session to be held on Thursday, March 22nd will be about an exhibition of "Tesbihte Hata Olmaz" in Mixer with an artist talk. After the discussions on the works, it will be decided which type to write on the participants. In the second session, which will take place on Thursday, March 29th, the authors will be given feedback on their texts. The workshop aims at allowing authors to interpret each other's texts.

At the end of the workshop, the texts will be archived with an e-book that will be published at MixerArts.com.

March 24th, 2018

The poetic power of the use of text in visual arts, the connection of the text with the object to support the expression, the image that gains new meanings, the documentation quality, the irony and analogy to place the text in visual expression will be discussed with the participation of the exhibit artists.

Date: August 10, 2017 Thursday - September 30, 2017 Saturday

The British Council is organising an Arts and Culture Writing Workshop for emerging art writers who focus on visual arts.

This workshop will be the first of a series of workshops on arts and culture writing organised by the British Council during major artistic events, and covering a wide range of art forms.

This edition, organised with the support of Mixer aims to develop the professional skills of art writers from Turkey and help them expose their works on Visual Arts to wider audiences, locally and internationally.

Deadline for the open call is 10 August.

How to Write about Contemporary Art?

With the field of the contemporary art now covering everything from performance and dance to experimental music, how is it possible for criticism to remain both expert and accessible?

This intensive, practical programme will focus on developing the skills required to write about art today. The course will take the form of lectures, workshops, writing exercises, and group discussions. Participants will visit exhibitions including the Istanbul Biennial in the company of the course leader, write reviews, discuss the results during focused workshops, and learn the tools required to develop their writing, critical, and editing skills. They will be introduced to different modes of critical writing, taking into account the intended site of publication and audience.

The course is led by Ben Eastham, the London-based art critic and editor with The White Review, art-agenda and documenta 14. He will offer individual guidance to each participant, and will undertake to edit and provide feedback on a new piece of their writing.

You may reach detailed information through the link.

Last Application Date: 16 April 2018

Mixer, who intended to guide young artists with their careers and to deliver art to everyone, since the day it was founded, continues to offer a place to artists where they can show their work with ‘’Mixer Sessions’’ that first took place in July 2016.
The ‘’Mixer Sessions III’’ exhibition to be held in June this year, invites; senior, masters and doctoral students of Faculty of Fine Arts, to prove their artistic independence.

‘’Mixer Sessions’’ which took place in July 2016 for the first time, included the work of 23 artists as the result of the open call, also provided space for young curators last June with the curatorial project ‘’Black Box’’. The open call Mixer made this year will be accepting applications of young artists, for contemporary art pieces made in different mediums.

Artists who want to take part in ‘’Mixer Sessions III’’ exhibition, where the work selection and curatorial work is undertaken by Mixer, can apply by filling in the application form till April 15.

Please be sure to read the items listed in the Application Conditions before submitting your e-mail.

Application Conditions:

▪ The application is open to senior, masters or doctoral students of the fine arts faculties and related departments.
▪ Artists must participate with original art pieces of their own.
▪ The artists are responsible for the originality of the works they submit.
▪ The work doesn’t have to abide by any discipline.

Documents to be submitted with application:

▪ Biography, (must be written in English and Turkish in 3rd person language) the word count of the biographies must be 100-150.
▪ Portfolio (must contain at least 3 visuals of work)
▪ Artist Statement, the word count of the text must be 200-350.
▪ Visual and brief description of the work (the visuals of the work must be 300 dpi resolution)
▪ Tags should be written in the following format: [Name of the artist, Name of the work, Size, Medium, Year]

The sketch books become the memories that shed light on the processes of the artist's ideas and practices while originating the works of art. The routes through which the artist passes through can be read from these intimate books. Theses books reflect the mind map of the artist, the trials made many times, the mistakes, and the sheds a light on the final product. In this workshop, which will be held by Ahmet Sarı in parallel to the ‘Upside Down‘ exhibition, the participants will perform sketch studies to reinterpret the objects that make up the main idea of the exhibition. The workshop which will last about 2 hours aims to give participants an experience on the artistic production process.

ArtWriting Turkey is founded with the aim to unearth and support young and emerging art critics and writers. Initiated by Mixer in November 2013, ArtWriting Turkey brings emerging and experienced art writers together and aims to rejuvenate the scene by organizing workshops, exhibition tours and discussion meetings.

In 2017, AWT is asking for entries from newbies of the scene. Top 10 articles will be published on Mixer’s website and will have a publication of 1000 copies which will be distributed to the libraries of museums, universities and established collections. Three writers will be commissioned to write a review for IstanbulArtNews April Issue. This year IstanbulArtNews editor-at-large Yasemin Bay, writer Cem Erciyes, journalist and member of AICA Evrim Altuğ will review the articles.
Applicants of the Open Call are requested to submit three unpublished reviews of a recent (November, December, January) contemporary art exhibition, a piece on an artwork or an artist, which should be 400 words in length each. Applications should be e-mailed as a Word attachment to info@mixerarts.com.

Guidelines for submissions

Applications must be submitted in Turkish.
Applicants must be over 18 years of age at the time of submission.
Applicants are allowed a maximum of three previously published pieces of writing on art. (Please attach links or articles to the application e-mail)
Applications should be published in the word format.

Important Dates:
Deadline for submission: February 15, 2017
Announcement of the Awards: March, 2017

ArtWriting Turkey (AWT), which focuses on art writing, continues with an interview workshop. The workshop, which will be realized with the leadership of Elvin Vural, the editor of the market at IstanbulArtNews, Fisun Yalçınkaya, the editor of plastic arts of the Milliyet newspaper magazine, and Yasemin Elçi, the founder of the SanatOnline website, will discuss about conducting interviews in different channels. The panel, which will be held on Wednesday, June 8, between 19:00-20:30, will discuss how the interviews with different actors in the field of culture and art should have a framework. The participants will be assigned a list of different interviews for different channels. In the second session, which will be held on Wednesday, June 22 from 19:00-20:30, the workshop managers will evaluate the participants' interviews and correct them and share their comments personally. Finally, some of the interviews prepared at the workshop will be published on SanatOnline site and Mixer's blog.

Participation in the workshop is free and limited to 12 people. In order to participate, you need to send an e-mail to serhat@mixerarts.com with the topic title "AWT Interview Workshop" on Sunday, June 5th at 6:00 pm to share your resume and a paragraph of motivation letter.