Climate crisis on stage at Arkas Art Alaçatı

Welcome to Al-Monitor Istanbul.

The end of August finds us in Cesme and Alacati, twin escapes an hour from Izmir. We begin with Alacati’s take on climate anxiety, linger over farm-to-table plates, then return to Istanbul as jazz and nostalgia season kicks off. The holiday haze breaks at the Istanbul Photo Awards, where images of Gaza’s famine cut through with unflinching clarity.

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Thanks for reading,

Nazlan (@NazlanEr on X)

P.S. Have tips on Istanbul’s culture scene? Send them my way at nertan@al-monitor.com.

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1. Leading the week: Staged dystopia

Murat Germen, “Simulacrum #02” (Courtesy of the artist)

Alacati may be synonymous with bougainvillea facades and overpriced mojitos, but tucked behind its cobblestoned alleys stands something more enduring: Arkas Art Alacati. The stone building with a central patio, travertine walls and a reflecting pool draws visitors from the bustling street into stillness.

The art center’s permanent exhibition honors Victor Vasarely, the Hungarian-French master of op art, tracing decades of work that bent lines and shapes into illusions. This season, however, the museum looks at illusion and denial in a different way.

Curated by Billur Tansel, “Staged” gathers 86 works by 35 artists in an immersive confrontation with what Jean-Paul Sartre called “the nausea of existence” and what Jean Baudrillard warned against as the tyranny of simulacra, where representation displaces reality.

Conceived as a criticism of collective blindness to climate change, the exhibition brings together installations, video works and staged photography. “I wanted to create an approach that combines the urgency with humor and irony,” Tansel told Al-Monitor.

Several contributors sharpen this tension. The Turkish artist Murat Germen, known for his focus on civic and environmental rights, frames from the air the 2021 marine mucilage disaster that struck Istanbul. His drone images look like Ebru marbling until the viewer grasps the devastation beneath—a layer of sea snot covering the surface of the water and killing the living organisms beneath it.

 “I would be so much happier in what I do if my testimony reached the people who can do something about it,” Germen told Al-Monitor.

The Dutch artist Danielle Kwaaitaal’s “End of Cycle” turns discarded objects into luminous still lifes, while her “Florilegium” suspends flowers underwater, glowing as if between reality and a dream. Turkish artist Burcak Bingol revives the Ottoman rose garden as a fragile metaphor, and Dutch artist Willem de Haan sends the rooftop of a flood-wrecked house gliding absurdly across a lake. 

Among all these contemporary works, a single classical painting, by 19th-century French artist Henri Ferdinand Bellan, may catch your eye. In “The Self-Portrait of the Artist in His Studio,” the painter maintains a steady gaze at the audience, reminding us that there was a time, not too long ago, when environmental angst was not a concern.

Henri Ferdinand Bellan, “The Self-Portrait of the Artist” (Photo: Nazlan Ertan)

Date: Through Sept. 28 

Location: Arkas Alacati Art Center: 12500. Sk. No:2, 35950 Alacati

2. Word on the street: Sun-kissed salads

Adanir’s watermelon salad (Courtesy of Nilgun Baskici Adanir)

A friend once joked that Alacati is where gourmet Izmir locals settle down to eat. In Alacati, Asma Yapragi, run by Aysenur Mihci and her son Kerem, is the Michelin-anointed temple of Aegean cuisine that features sinkonta, oven-roasted pumpkin topped with yoghurt, as its signature dish. Emre and Damla Kolburan’s Kolburano’s adds a contemporary Mediterranean flair and a great but affordable wine list. My insider tip, however, is 2Kapi, where the exuberant Nilgun Baskici Adanir and her family serve up delectables all day: from crunchy chickpeas with cashews to watermelon purslane salad, orange-scented greens and grilled tuna skewers.

Location: Hacımemis neighborhood, 12012. Street No:7, 35937 Alacati

3. Istanbul diary

Saadet Sorgunlu, “I wish I were a stone in Palestine” (Courtesy of the artist)

In Istanbul, Sabanci University’s Kasa Gallery hosts Saadet Sorgunlu’s solo show “The Name Remained in the Chest (Hidden).” Through textiles and installations, Sorgunlu reclaims the trousseau chest as a metaphor for silenced women’s stories.

Start the season with the Burgazada Jazz Festival (Aug. 29–31), featuring three nights of jazz and jazz-inspired sounds wrapped in island views. For tickets and the program, see here.

At Taksim Sanat, the curator Hicran Aksoz presents “As If Walking on Dust,” tracing the inner journey of selfhood, recalling childhood games and visualizing haunting faces, until Sept. 20.