After exhibition projects featuring emerging artists from Africa, the United States, and Chile, YAG/garage, in collaboration with the Elgiz Museum in Istanbul, an institution dedicated to the development of contemporary art in Turkey and specifically to supporting and giving international visibility to young Turkish artists, focuses its attention on this geographic area.
As with the first three editions of YAG/garage INTERNATIONAL, this initiative is presented in two phases: a virtual exhibition on the gallery’s website, available starting 1 October, and a physical exhibition at the Via Caravaggio space, starting on 25 November.
The virtual exhibition consists of images of works by 15 artists selected from a pool of 30 candidates chosen by Sevda Elgiz of the Elgiz Museum and her collaborators Melike Yürekli and Selin Gunes.
The artists participating in the virtual exhibition are: Bengü Karaduman, Gül İclal Öner Yıldız, Esra Oskay, Bahadir Hizol, Pelin Bulu Yilmaz, Eymen Aktel, Sevval Konyali, Levent Ayata, Ugur Omer Pekince, Mehmet Ali Boran, Zeynep Merve Çiçek, Can Akgümüș, Emrah Önal, Esra Doğan, and Nurgül Gökçen.
The work of these young talents will be evaluated by a jury of experts, which will select the 10 young artists who will exhibit in Pescara in November.
The jury is composed of: Ivan D’Alberto, artistic director of YAG/garage; Silvio Maresca, founder of the Pescara space; Martina Sconci, director of the MuSpAC in L’Aquila; Maila Buglioni, editor-in-chief of Segnonline magazine; and Alessandra Arnò, director of Visualcontainer in Milan.
The first four selected artists for the exhibition in Pescara will receive a monetary prize, while all 10 will have their works included in the permanent collection of YAG/garage. The exhibition will be documented in the general catalog of the Pescara gallery, which will be presented to the public in 2024.
The decision to explore young Turkish art is motivated by the current economic and political situation in the country. Most of the artists working in this geographic area are focused on creating works with a socio-political message, aiming to redirect the public’s attention to the difficult realities in Turkey. Naturally, such an effort faces resistance both politically and economically. Furthermore, the recent earthquakes in the country’s south, bordering Syria, have further destabilized an already fragile situation. In this state of general emergency, it is extremely difficult to allocate resources to the cultural sector, which is also subject to intense pressures that do not allow for completely free expression. For these reasons, the YAG/garage INTERNATIONAL Turkey project becomes an opportunity for these young talents and a chance for the public to experience an artistic production very different from what is typically presented by the Pescara space.
Key to the connection between Elgiz Museum and YAG/garage is sculpture professor Nilüfer Ergin from Marmara University, who played a significant role in the mediation process. The image chosen for the exhibition’s graphic design (both virtual and physical) is a photograph by Mehmet Ali Boran titled Area Defence (2011).
Ivan D’Alberto was born in Pescara in 1979. A historian and theorist of contemporary art, he is currently the director of YAG/garage. He served as the director of the Museo d’Arte Contemporanea in Nocciano, Pescara (2009-2012). He has collaborated with Dartmouth University (Massachusetts, USA), the University of Ferrara, the University of Chieti-Pescara, and the Academy of Fine Arts in L’Aquila. He has taught Art Marketing at the Academy of Fine Arts in Naples. Since 2011, he has been the curator of CORPO – Festival of Performing Arts and is the founder of the Center for Archiving and Promoting Performing Arts in Pescara. He has curated numerous exhibitions, including MadeinAbruzzo: Regional Video Art Research (Milan, 2011), Integumenta Angelii: Useful Teachings for the Soul and Body (Rome, 2013), audĭentĭa – Cities in Listening (Rome, 2014), and several events during the Venice Biennale (CORPO 2015, Vitraria Glass + A Museum, 2015, CORPO 2017, San Servolo Island, 2017, Young Artist in the Hotel, San Servolo Island, 2019). He has collaborated with various specialized magazines including Artribune, Juliet Art Magazine, and Segno. He has published several books, including CORPO estraneo/straniero. History of Performing Arts in Abruzzo (Verdone Editions, 2015), Il terzo occhio (PrimeVie Editions, 2015), Tutto è iniziato prima (Di Felice Editions, 2017), Il corpo che abito. Gender Identity and Its Transitions. Analysis of Contemporary Performing Languages (Conference Proceedings, Nicomp L. E. Editions, Florence 2016), Umano Disumano | Angelo Colangelo (Arsenio Editions, Martinsicuro, Te, 2021).
Silvio Maresca was born in Teramo in 1961 and graduated in Political Science from the University of Bologna. He is the general director of Bluserena S.p.A., a leading hotel company in Italy, and CEO of Carlo Maresca S.p.A., a group active in tourism, real estate, and renewable energy sectors. He is also the administrator of Terme di Torre Canne S.R.L., a thermal establishment recognized by the Italian healthcare system, and president of My.Ho Casa S.R.L., a tourism company offering a new model of accommodation. In the non-profit sector, he founded and presides over the social promotion association Etipublica, which supports public debate and open government initiatives. Through Bluserena S.p.A., he has supported Permicro, a microcredit agency, since 2009, and launched the Migrants Project in 2018, which offers training and integration programs for migrants. His interest in art led him to launch I Giardini d’arte di via Caravaggio, a competition for young artists from Italian Fine Arts Academies, and in 2018, YAG/garage (Young Artists Gallery) was founded to promote young artists, with Silvio Maresca as founder and administrator.
Maila Buglioni (born in Rome in 1982) is an art historian and curator. She holds a Master’s degree in Contemporary Art History from La Sapienza University of Rome and has collaborated with various cultural institutions. She is a founding member of the collective ARTNOISE and a curator of various exhibitions across Italy. She is the creator of the Appia Antica Art Project and continues to engage in curatorial work, as well as writing for Segno magazine.
Alessandra Arnò is an artist, curator, and professor of Art Media and Creative Advisor. She co-founded Visualcontainer Italian Videoart Platform in 2008 and has worked extensively in experimental audiovisual practices and research on new media. She is the art director of several projects, including [.BOX] Videoart Project Space, and has curated over 80 international artists. She is also an academic instructor in multimedia and audiovisual studies.
Martina Sconci is an art historian and freelance curator. She is the artistic director of the MuSpAC Museum of Contemporary Art in L’Aquila and has curated numerous exhibitions across Italy. She has been involved in educational programs and conferences related to contemporary art and cultural regeneration.
Via Caravaggio, 125 - 65125 Pescara
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