According to the report in Art Newspaper, Esra Sarıgedik Öktem, curator of the Turkish Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale, resigned from her post in protest of the recent actions of the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV). Earlier this month, IKSV announced Iwona Blazwick as curator of the next Istanbul Biennial despite the fact that the Advisory Board unanimously recommended Turkish-born curator Defne Ayas. To further complicate matters, Blazwick was one of the members of the very same Advisory Board, which since then has been dismissed. We have compiled a selection of articles covering this story as it unfolds:
THE ART NEWSPAPER
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2023/08/10/istanbul-biennial-rejected-curator-recommended-by-advisory-board-in-favour-of-iwona-blazwick
HYPERALLERGIC
https://hyperallergic.com/838873/you-can-never-be-complicit-enough-for-the-turkish-art-world/
THE ART NEWSPAPER
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2023/08/15/art-dealer-chosen-to-curate-turkish-pavilion-at-next-venice-biennale-resigns
ART REVIEW
https://artreview.com/turkeys-venice-pavilion-curator-resigns-amid-controversy/