Souvenirs of the Future Exhibition Tour

Curator's Tour

December 14, 2023 / 18:00

Could the future be remembered through the familiar objects collected in the past? Could these objects act as a means to shape the memories of the future that will come as fragments—a means to shape, understand, and preserve the past? Souvenirs of the Future, which sets forth from the Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation Kütahya Tiles and Ceramics Collection, explores the ties forged between memory and imagination through contemporary works while focusing on that which is remembered with the help of objects. The cultural and symbolic value and meaning of objects that have been acquired or collected as souvenirs, as a reminder of a certain place and time, interweave the memory of the region with personal journeys.

The exhibition presents a future-oriented perspective of the archive while aiming to understand the future through commissioned contemporary works inspired by the collection. Yet instead of a nostalgic devotion to the past, it proposes contemplating how we will remember the future. In this exhibition curated by Ulya Soley and organized in memory of Suna Kıraç, who created the Kütahya Tiles and Ceramics Collection, a selection from the collection that inspired the contemporary works accompanies each corresponding section. As part of the exhibition, a restricted number of participants will be offered the opportunity to take a tour of the exhibition, led by curator Ulya Soley's informative commentary. 

The guided tour fee: 100 TL (Free for Friends of Pera Museum)

The guided tour language is Turkish. The capacity is limited. To join the tour, you can buy tickets from Biletix or make a reservation via resepsiyon@peramuzesi.org.tr

Temporary Exhibition

Souvenirs of the Future

The exhibition focuses on the memories recalled through objects whilst exploring the connections between memory and future imaginings through a contemporary lens. The cultural and symbolic value and significance of objects taken as souvenirs, those that remind us of a certain place and time, or those that are collected, weave together personal journeys and the memory of the region. Instead of a nostalgic attachment to the past, it proposes contemplating how the future will be remembered and focuses on memory's future-oriented functions.

Souvenirs of the Future

A Photographer’s Biography Pascal Sebah

A Photographer’s Biography Pascal Sebah

Following the opening of his studio, “El Chark Societe Photographic,” on Beyoğlu’s Postacılar Caddesi in 1857, the Levantine-descent Pascal Sébah moves to yet another studio next to the Russian Embassy in 1860 with a Frenchman named A. Laroche, who, apart from having worked in Paris previously, is also quite familiar with photographic techniques.

Jean-Michel Basquiat Look At Me!

Jean-Michel Basquiat Look At Me!

The exhibition “Look At Me! Portraits and Other Fictions from the ”la Caixa” Contemporary Art Collection” examined portraiture, one of the oldest artistic genres, through a significant number of works of our times. Paintings, photographs, sculptures and videos shaped a labyrinth of gazes that invite spectators to reflect themselves in the social mirror of portraits.

Bosphorus at the Orientalist Paintings

Bosphorus at the Orientalist Paintings

The Bosphorus, which divides the city from north to south, separates two continents, renders Istanbul distinct for western painters, offers the most picturesque spectacles for western artists.