Barbara Sturm
Istanbul just happened to me – as a stopover in 2019. It was like crashing into a kind of beauty and intensity unlike the one that I had been used to and had liked to cultivate. It was not the beauty of calmness, distance and understatement, but the beauty of anarchical vibrancy, shouting, ship engines and exaggeration.
In 2020, I experienced the city absolutely deserted: The pandemic actually managed to turn Istanbul into a huge tranquil village.
Now, in 2021, when I am slightly aloof as an “artist-in-residence”, I can choose between distance and closeness.
There are art places that feel familiar for us Europeans: Arter, for example (really good exhibitions / dealing with the political background is up to oneself), or the Contemporary Istanbul fair which I did not visit. I rather opted for the craft fair that took place at the same time because this is Istanbul for me: most interesting where you do not expect it.
| 1. | My stay in one word: |
| Paradigm change. | |
| 2. | Dos & Don'ts at this place? |
| Do: Take the regular ships in any direction and drink tea. Don't: Take a taxi during rush hours. |
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| 3. | Things I miss since I am no longer there: |
| The warmth and, I wouldn’t have thought so, the crowds; my friends there and the intensity of everyday moments. | |
| 4. | Where you can buy great supplies: |
| Güven in Beşiktaş and, an insider tip, a basement shop, all dusty, close by in Defterda sk., almost at Taksim. It was only there that I got the pencils I had been looking for everywhere. | |
| 5. | What you should definitely bring with you from home: |
| Ear plugs, maybe art materials as they are expensive here. Good shoes. | |
| 6. | On art at my residency place: |
| In the streets… | |
| 7. | Around the studio – this is where I go shopping, drink a coffee and get the best lunch specials within walking distance: |
| Absolute favourite place for having breakfast and eating: Cihangir Sosyal Tesisleri, just around the corner; for having breakfast: Cafe Limon, near the mosque in Defterda sk. | |
| 8. | Where I like to spend the evening (dinner, drinks and best sound): |
| — | |
| 9. | What I would have liked to know about the studio already at the start of my residency: |
| My predecessor, B. Eichhorn, informed me well! |
Website resident: barbarasturm.net