Discipline: 15 years of Tarabya Cultural Academy
Exhibition Tours with E. Iolanda Patrizia Bach Ruscello
As part of Tarabya Cultural Academy’s 15th anniversary celebrations, E. Iolanda Patrizia Bach Ruscello’s solo exhibition Past, Quotable in Every Moment – Using Istanbul as an Example is on view at the German Consulate General in Istanbul. On three dates in October, the artist, an alumna of Tarabya Cultural Academy, invites visitors to join her for artist-led tours of the exhibition.
The tours offer an opportunity to explore the exhibition with the artist and gain insight into her long-standing engagement with history, memory and city archives.
At the centre of the exhibition is the TOMIKO archive, which the artist has been building for more than twenty years. It is a collection of private family snapshots and amateur photographs – images she regards as often-overlooked historical records. The exhibition presents photographs from the archive’s Istanbul holdings, complemented by the artist’s drawings and by fragments of Walter Benjamin’s On the Concept of History in German, Turkish and English.
Drawing on Benjamin’s reflections on the writing of history, the exhibition explores how the past becomes visible and how it continues to resonate in the present. Photographs, drawings and texts enter into dialogue with the architecture and historical furnishings of the Consulate General, opening up new perspectives on Istanbul as a place shaped by layered memories.
Dates
14 October 2026, 5 pm
21 October 2026, 5 pm
28 October 2026, 5 pm
Venue: German Consulate General in Istanbul
Prior registration is required.
With the kind support of Siemens Energy.
In cooperation with the German Consulate General in Istanbul.
Artist
E. İolanda Patrizia Bach Ruscello
Patrizia Bach, a draughtswoman, lives and works in Berlin and sometimes in Istanbul. She completed her studies in fine art and visual communication in 2014 as a master class student of Nanne Meyer at the Berlin Weißensee Art Academy, with a thesis on Walter Benjamin’s Arcades Project. In 2016 she initiated the exhibition project Past in Each of Its Moments Be Citable (DEPO, Istanbul), in which she invited a group of Turkish and German artists to explore Istanbul in the light of Benjamin’s Theses on the Philosophy of History. Bach’s projects have been presented in many places, including at the Berlinische Galerie Berlin (2020), DEPO, Istanbul (2018) and Walter Benjamin in Palestine – on the Place and Nonplace of Radical Thought in Ramallah (2016). She is the recipient of the Global Grant and the Research Grant of the Berlin Senate (2016/2017) and was a guest at Akademie Schloss Solitude in 2018. Her book Passagen-Arbeit, Zeichnungen zu Walter Benjamin & Paris- Stadtplan; Zu Walter Benjamins ‚Passagen-Werk (Arcades Work, Drawings for Walter Benjamin & the Paris City Map; Walter Benjamin’s Arcades Work) was shortlisted by the Book Art Foundation for the most beautiful German books of 2018. Since 2018 she has been working with the author Regina Dürig on various projects.
Patrizia Bach was a resident at Tarabya Cultural Academy from February to September 2021.
Patrizia Bach, a draughtswoman, lives and works in Berlin and sometimes in Istanbul. She completed her studies in fine art and visual communication in 2014 as a master class student of Nanne Meyer at the Berlin Weißensee Art Academy, with a thesis on Walter Benjamin’s Arcades Project. In 2016 she initiated the exhibition project Past in Each of Its Moments Be Citable (DEPO, Istanbul), in which she invited a group of Turkish and German artists to explore Istanbul in the light of Benjamin’s Theses on the Philosophy of History. Bach’s projects have been presented in many places, including at the Berlinische Galerie Berlin (2020), DEPO, Istanbul (2018) and Walter Benjamin in Palestine – on the Place and Nonplace of Radical Thought in Ramallah (2016). She is the recipient of the Global Grant and the Research Grant of the Berlin Senate (2016/2017) and was a guest at Akademie Schloss Solitude in 2018. Her book Passagen-Arbeit, Zeichnungen zu Walter Benjamin & Paris- Stadtplan; Zu Walter Benjamins ‚Passagen-Werk (Arcades Work, Drawings for Walter Benjamin & the Paris City Map; Walter Benjamin’s Arcades Work) was shortlisted by the Book Art Foundation for the most beautiful German books of 2018. Since 2018 she has been working with the author Regina Dürig on various projects.
Patrizia Bach was a resident at Tarabya Cultural Academy from February to September 2021.
Concert with OLIVINN
As part of Tarabya Cultural Academy’s 15th anniversary celebrations, composer and alumna Sinem Altan and her ensemble OLIVINN offer new perspectives on the shared musical heritage of Germany and Türkiye.
Led by the German-Turkish composer and pianist, OLIVINN creates a multifaceted soundscape between classical music, jazz and folk. Together with singer Begüm Tüzemen, multi-instrumentalist Özgür Ersoy and Berlin-based percussionist Axel Meier, Altan brings together different worlds and cultural traditions in a vibrant, contemporary language. Anatolian melancholy meets German Romanticism, while improvisation encounters finely crafted composition. In this way, bridges emerge between two continents, as well as between memories and visions of the future.
The programme features selected works and arrangements from the albums Kara and Hava, alongside further surprises. The concert at Caddebostan Cultural Centre on Istanbul’s Asian side invites audiences on a journey through different eras, styles and cultural experiences.
Altan, a fellow of Tarabya Cultural Academy in 2016, is now regarded as one of the most prominent German-Turkish composers of her generation. Her works are performed by renowned orchestras and theatres across the German-speaking world. With OLIVINN, she continues to pursue her artistic vision of open, cross-border dialogue.
Musicians
Sinem Altan – piano, composition
Begüm Tüzemen – vocals
Özgür Ersoy – multi-instrumentalist
Axel Meier – percussion
Venue: Caddebostan Cultural Centre, Kadıköy, Istanbul
In cooperation with Caddebostan Cultural Centre of Kadıköy Municipality.
Artist
Sinem Altan
Sinem Altan, born in 1985 in Ankara, studied composition at the University of the Arts, Berlin, and composition at the Hanns Eisler Music Academy. Her more extensive works include Hafriyat-Earthwork for orchestra, for which she won the European Composer Prize 2015, the Concerto for Bağlama and Orchestra, commissioned by the Landesmusikrat Berlin 2013, and the city opera Die Gute Stadt (The Good City) for the Freiburg Theater. Her fairy tale concerto Keloğlan und die Räuberbande (Keloğlan and the Band of Robbers), commissioned by the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, received the Young Ears Special Prize 2011. She currently works as artistic director at the Atze Musiktheater Berlin and is the musical director of the Maxim Gorki Theater, Berlin. Her current performances and projects as a pianist and conductor, also with her renowned Ensemble Olivinn, include the recomposition project for Beethoven’s Pastorale at the main broadcasting hall of the RBB Aşkım Beethoven, meine Liebe (Aşkım Beethoven, My Love), commissions for new compositions at the Young Euro Classic at Konzerthaus Berlin, a series of concerts in Cemal-Reşit-Rey Concert Hall in Istanbul, and concert events for the German Federal President at Bellevue Palace.
Sinem Altan was a resident at Tarabya Cultural Academy from July to December 2016.
Sinem Altan, born in 1985 in Ankara, studied composition at the University of the Arts, Berlin, and composition at the Hanns Eisler Music Academy. Her more extensive works include Hafriyat-Earthwork for orchestra, for which she won the European Composer Prize 2015, the Concerto for Bağlama and Orchestra, commissioned by the Landesmusikrat Berlin 2013, and the city opera Die Gute Stadt (The Good City) for the Freiburg Theater. Her fairy tale concerto Keloğlan und die Räuberbande (Keloğlan and the Band of Robbers), commissioned by the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, received the Young Ears Special Prize 2011. She currently works as artistic director at the Atze Musiktheater Berlin and is the musical director of the Maxim Gorki Theater, Berlin. Her current performances and projects as a pianist and conductor, also with her renowned Ensemble Olivinn, include the recomposition project for Beethoven’s Pastorale at the main broadcasting hall of the RBB Aşkım Beethoven, meine Liebe (Aşkım Beethoven, My Love), commissions for new compositions at the Young Euro Classic at Konzerthaus Berlin, a series of concerts in Cemal-Reşit-Rey Concert Hall in Istanbul, and concert events for the German Federal President at Bellevue Palace.
Sinem Altan was a resident at Tarabya Cultural Academy from July to December 2016.
Artist
Özgür Ersoy
Özgür Ersoy, born in 1977 in Erzincan, studied in Izmir at the Bağlama Conservatory for Turkish Music and has lived in Berlin since 1999. He has performed in numerous projects, including the family concert Mr. Sax in Anatolia at the Bielefeld Philharmonic, which was composed for the Turkish instruments bağlama and mey. As a soloist, he has played at well-known venues such as the Konzerthaus Berlin, Hagen Philharmonic, Bielefeld Philharmonic, Württemberg Chamber Orchestra Heilbronn, Cemal-Reşit-Rey Concert Hall, and Bellevue Palace. His more recent projects include Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten (The Town Musicians of Bremen) at the Berlin Comic Opera and the film music for Berlin, I Love You. In addition to his musical work, he has also been since 2013 an author.
Özgür Ersoy was a resident at Tarabya Cultural Academy from June to August 2018 and July 2020.
Özgür Ersoy, born in 1977 in Erzincan, studied in Izmir at the Bağlama Conservatory for Turkish Music and has lived in Berlin since 1999. He has performed in numerous projects, including the family concert Mr. Sax in Anatolia at the Bielefeld Philharmonic, which was composed for the Turkish instruments bağlama and mey. As a soloist, he has played at well-known venues such as the Konzerthaus Berlin, Hagen Philharmonic, Bielefeld Philharmonic, Württemberg Chamber Orchestra Heilbronn, Cemal-Reşit-Rey Concert Hall, and Bellevue Palace. His more recent projects include Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten (The Town Musicians of Bremen) at the Berlin Comic Opera and the film music for Berlin, I Love You. In addition to his musical work, he has also been since 2013 an author.
Özgür Ersoy was a resident at Tarabya Cultural Academy from June to August 2018 and July 2020.
Gerrit Frohne-Brinkmann at the 10th Çanakkale Biennial
From 10 October to 20 November 2026, the 10th Çanakkale Biennale, titled Metcezir / Ebb & Flow, brings together international contemporary artists in the port city of Çanakkale in north-western Türkiye. Among them is Tarabya Cultural Academy alumnus Gerrit Frohne-Brinkmann, who is presenting an installation developed specifically for the biennale.
Since its founding, the Çanakkale Biennale has become an important platform for artistic dialogue on social and cultural questions. Located at the meeting point of Europe and Asia, Çanakkale’s historical and geographical setting provides a unique context for exploring themes such as memory, identity, exchange and coexistence.
Frohne-Brinkmann’s new work combines ceramic sculptures with discarded animatronic objects, creating an unusual encounter between the two. The installation takes as its starting point the characteristic animal representations found in Çanakkale ceramics, whose forms and motifs the artist transforms into new, hybrid constellations. Objects with contrasting modes of production, different origins and layers of meaning thus share the same space. With this work, Frohne-Brinkmann continues his exploration of animals, systems of order and cultural conceptions of nature, as well as the coexistence of different materials and technologies.
His participation continues a long-standing connection between the Academy and the biennale: in recent years, several Tarabya Cultural Academy alumni, including Nevin Aladağ, Anahita Razmi and Nezaket Ekici, have taken part in the Çanakkale Biennale. This ongoing exchange highlights the lasting connections between Germany and Türkiye fostered by the Academy’s residency programme.
In cooperation with the Çanakkale Biennale.
Artist
Gerrit Frohne-Brinkmann
Gerrit Frohne-Brinkmann was born in 1990 in Friesoythe, Germany and studied at the HFBK University of Fine Arts of Hamburg. His sculptural practice, which encompasses a wide range of techniques, spanning from handmade ceramics and papier-mâché to found objects and ready-mades, merges contradictory visual languages and material logics. States of being discarded, unloved, and forgotten form a recurring point of reference in his works. He looks at the various ways of creating illusion, imitating, and staging that lie at the intersection of technological history, the natural sciences, entertainment, and pop culture. Plants and animals, along with their replicas or appropriations, are often the focus of his explorations and act as protagonists in his works. In dealing with the conditions for exhibiting, he examines the tension between attraction and disappointment. His works have been shown most recently at the Kunsthalle in Hamburg, at Hangar Y in Meudon (2024), at the Fundación Marso in Mexico City (2023), at LambdaLambdaLambda in Pristina, and at the Kunstverein in Oldenburg (2022). He lives and works in Hamburg.
Gerrit Frohne-Brinkmann was a resident at the Tarabya Cultural Academy from February to May 2025.
Gerrit Frohne-Brinkmann was born in 1990 in Friesoythe, Germany and studied at the HFBK University of Fine Arts of Hamburg. His sculptural practice, which encompasses a wide range of techniques, spanning from handmade ceramics and papier-mâché to found objects and ready-mades, merges contradictory visual languages and material logics. States of being discarded, unloved, and forgotten form a recurring point of reference in his works. He looks at the various ways of creating illusion, imitating, and staging that lie at the intersection of technological history, the natural sciences, entertainment, and pop culture. Plants and animals, along with their replicas or appropriations, are often the focus of his explorations and act as protagonists in his works. In dealing with the conditions for exhibiting, he examines the tension between attraction and disappointment. His works have been shown most recently at the Kunsthalle in Hamburg, at Hangar Y in Meudon (2024), at the Fundación Marso in Mexico City (2023), at LambdaLambdaLambda in Pristina, and at the Kunstverein in Oldenburg (2022). He lives and works in Hamburg.
Gerrit Frohne-Brinkmann was a resident at the Tarabya Cultural Academy from February to May 2025.
Opening Concert with Hezarfen Ensemble
To mark the beginning of Tarabya Cultural Academy’s 15th anniversary celebrations, Hezarfen Ensemble presents a special concert at Süreyya Opera House, featuring works by alumni of the Academy and showcasing successful collaborations between artists from Türkiye and Germany.
The programme centres on works by Tarabya Cultural Academy alumni Ketan Bhatti, Martin Grütter, Samir Odeh-Tamami and Stefan Lienenkämper. It also includes Companioning by composer and alumna Fulya Uçanok, written for string quartet, live electronics and fixed media. Uçanok will perform the piece together with the musicians of Hezarfen Ensemble.
Founded in 2010 by Ulrich Mertin and Michael Ellison, Hezarfen Ensemble is regarded as one of the first professional contemporary music ensembles in Türkiye. Through its innovative programmes and transcultural approach, the ensemble has played a significant role in shaping contemporary music in the country, while also gaining international recognition. For the anniversary concert, the ensemble’s string quartet has curated a selection of works that have emerged from fifteen years of artistic encounters and collaborations with Tarabya Cultural Academy.
The evening thus not only brings individual compositional voices to the fore but also highlights the diversity of musical perspectives brought together through the Academy’s international residency programme. It is a concert about exchange, collaboration and the power of artistic networks across borders.
Musicians
Özcan Ulucan – violin
İmge Tilif Yalçınkaya – violin
Ulrich Mertin – viola
Ozan Evrim Tunca – cello
Guest: Fulya Uçanok – electronics
Venue: Süreyya Opera House, Kadıköy, Istanbul
With the kind support of the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation.
In cooperation with Kadıköy Municipality and Hezarfen Ensemble.