Spring breezes in the art and culture world
The 43rd İstanbul Film Festival starts on April 17
Organized by the İstanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts, the 43rd İstanbul Film Festival takes place from April 17 to 28. Films from auteurs such as Wim Wenders and Koji Yakusho, among others, will be screened in six theaters: Atlas 1948, Beyoğlu Cinema, Cinewam City’s 3, Cinewam City’s 7, Kadıköy Cinema, and Sinematek. The İstanbul Film Festival is one of our favorite April events and we’re looking forward to this year’s edition!
Four special concerts for International Jazz Day
İstanbul is hosting four jazz concerts on April 30 in honor of International Jazz Day. The Uğur Gübeş Quartet will perform their debut album Unstable at the Borusan Music House, while Amsterdam/İstanbul-based Mert Pekduraner and his band perform at Babylon; and Cherise, a new generation soul singer from England, performs at Salon İKSV. The Portico Quartet, one of the most important groups in British modern jazz, take the stage at The Blind.
Crocodile Fever with famous actors
Acclaimed at the 2019 Edinburgh Theater Festival, Crocodile Fire was described by The Guardian newspaper as “Feminist Tarantino”. Directed by Mehmet Ergen and starring Funda Eryiğit, Hazar Ergüçlü and Hidayet Erdinç, the play will be staged at Zorlu PSM on Tuesday, April 16, and at Caddebostan Cultural Center on Wednesday, April 17.
Sakura Festival at Sabancı University
On April 2, Sabancı University hosts the first open-air event of the year, starring the cherry blossoms that represent nature’s rebirth. The Sakura Festival, commemorating the 100th anniversary of Türkiye-Japan relations, features Kufuki and Yogetsu Akasaka, successful representatives of traditional Japanese music, along with Turkish musician Cem Adrian. The festival will also include workshops in origami, ikebana, shadoo (Japanese Calligraphy), sushi and fragrance, as well as a Kendo show and a Traditional Tea Ceremony.
Tanıdık Yüzler at Barın Han
Remzi Yılmaz’s fourth solo exhibition, Tanıdık Yüzler, opens at Barın Han at 17.00 on April 2, World Autism Awareness Day. Tanıdık Yüzler depicts a fairytale-like story inspired by metaphorical themes from everyday life and popular images.
Plays, exhibitions, festivals…
10 Adımda Unutmak by Şahika Tekand
Written and directed by Şahika Tekand, 10 Adımda Unutmak examines today’s passive and conformist human species through a tragicomic lens. Performances take place on April 28 and 29 at DasDas.
A father-son showdown: Eksik
Written and directed by Aksel Bonfil, Eksik stars Levent Can, Hande Doğandemir and Erdem Kaynarca, and focuses on the humorous moments that exist in the midst of pain, and the acknowledgment of our bonds, and our flaws. The 80-minute play will be performed at Atlas 1948, with a special two-for-one ticket offer on April 4, World Theater Day – purchase one ticket and receive one free ticket.
Kırık Ufuk at Galerist
Kırık Ufuk, Ayça Telgeren’s fifth solo exhibition at Galerist, explores the artist’s relationship with the gallery space over time through her work and body. Without focusing, and accepting the scattered, she observes the unseen places, leaving the judgmental and rational tunnel of the eye and almost touching the building’s interior with her works. Kırık Ufuk runs at Galerist until April 27.
Spring comes to the capital: The 38th Ankara Music Festival
From April 4 to 30, the capital, Ankara, hosts more than 300 artists from 12 countries. The festival showcases distinguished examples of classical and baroque music, dance and jazz in the categories of symphonic concert, modern ballet, chamber music, and jazz from Japan, Germany, Czechia, Croatia, Russia, Hungary, Hungary, Georgia, Norway, Azerbaijan, France and Italy.
