Identities discovered at Istanbul exhibit

J “ID / Identities,” an international art festival of photography, video art, computer graphics, installations and performing art, will be hosted in Istanbul by the Koza Visual Culture and Arts Association and the Avantgarde Hotel. Some 98 artists from around the globe will feature their artwork from Nov. 22 to Dec. 23.

The exhibit aims to tackle issues of differing identities and roles that people deal with in daily life. Artists were selected around this main concept of “identity” and its reflection on cities, bodies, society and culture, and how they blend together. As people create and adapt to social identities in daily life, aesthetic tastes are modified by physical identities. The exhibition suggests that one’s whole being evolves through identity, just as contemporary cultures and modern cities do; people, environments, societies, progress and all their inputs shape and regenerate individuals, shifting and overlapping to create a new stimulating world.

“One person could be considered the last ant of a megalopolis and also feel his own identity as a legitimate heir to an ancient monarchy,” according to curators Ramuntcho Robles Quevedo and Marta Stella, who claim that identity starts in oneself and honesty can uphold the intrinsic value of a human being.

“When an individual man is complete, all is possible. It’s true that material richness is influenced by where you were born, in what family or what country, but there always exists the possibility to strengthen one’s own identity. Identities are habits in oneself and all personal circumstances are thus changeable.”

“To be a complete person, one’s life experiences, genetics and place of birth are all important. The best wines have more variety as distinguished by their fragrances, which could be sweet or penetrating. The best seeds give the most beautiful flowers when grown in the best land, in a place with enough rain and optimal sun without burning the flower. We change the sun for ourselves, the land for the place where we feel self-realized, and the water for our own life experiences … and we’ll have a complete human identity.”

Following the event, curators and organizers will select winning artists for the 1 Solo Exhibition in Venice. Winners will have their work displayed in an exclusive venue between San Marco Square and the Arsenale or near the Ponte di Rialto on the Canal Grande in Venice, as well as being featured at international art festivals organized by International ArtExpo for one year and one week of luxury accommodations at an exclusive art residence in Italy.