October 26, 2023 - April 28, 2024
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 set forth from the Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation Kütahya Tiles and Ceramics Collection, explored the ties forged between memory and imagination through contemporary works while focusing on what was remembered with the help of objects. The cultural and symbolic value and meaning of objects that had been acquired or collected as souvenirs—as reminders of a certain place and time—interwove the memory of the region with personal journeys.
The exhibition presented 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 proposed contemplating how we would remember the future.
Curated by Ulya Soley and organized in memory of Suna Kıraç, who created the Kütahya Tiles and Ceramics Collection, the exhibition featured a selection from the collection that accompanied each corresponding section and inspired the contemporary works.
Artists: Adriana Varejão, Aslı Çavuşoğlu, Bilal Yılmaz, Burçak Bingöl, Candice Lin, Deniz Eroglu, Elif Uras, Francesco Simeti, Jorge Otero-Pailos, Livia Marin, Metehan Törer, Neven Allgeier, oddviz, Skuja Braden, Taner Ceylan, Volkan Aslan, Yasemin Özcan, Zsófia Keresztes
Image Credits
Neven Allgeier
Environment, 2019-2023
Archival pigment print, 120 x 80 cm
Wallpaper, 284 x 186 cm
Courtesy of the Artist
Aslı Çavuşoğlu
Both Roots and Stems Both Are Both Not, 2023
Installation, ceramics, 3D print
Variable dimensions
Courtesy of the Artist
Elif Uras
Double Niche, 2023
Installation
300 x 480 cm
Courtesy of the Artist and Galerist
Adriana Varejão
Carpet Style Tilework on Canvases [Azulejaria "de tapete" sobre telas], 1999
Oil on canvas installation made up of 45 canvases
Variable dimensions
Courtesy of the artist and the Monica and Oded Goldberg Collection
3D Virtual Tour
Exhibition Catalogue
Souvenirs of the Future approaches the Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation Kütahya Tiles and Ceramics Collection with a future-oriented perspective. It focuses on the memories recalled through objects whilst exploring the connections between memory and future imaginings through a contemporary lens.
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. 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.
In the event, DJ duo bbs and DJ Samy Winehouse will feature futuristic mixes of past sounds.
Pera Museum is delighted to be hosting an artist talk with exhibited artist Burçak Bingöl and architect and researcher Gertrud Olsson. The talk will focus on cultural heritage within the context of ceramics, traditions and identity; with Bingöl as an artist working intimately with ceramics and Olsson as the author of the book titled Den lilla skalan i den stora – kaklet i osmanska rum [The small scale in the large: tiles in Ottoman rooms] (currently only available in Swedish).
Pera Museum hosts two talks focused on the history of Kütahya tiles and ceramics. In the first talk, Bilal Yılmaz, who is among the exhibited artists with the work titled Elhamra, presents his study conducted with curator Lydia Chatziiakovou titled "An Artistic Research Report on Kütahya Tiles". In the second talk, collector, and researcher Dinos Kogias takes a close look at the tradition of ceramics in Kütahya through emblematic pieces.
This research performance looks at the exciting and futuristic potential of the "past" to heal the world today. It reframes our concept of theater, focusing on why and how we originallypractised it and asks if it can change the world.
Pera Museum presents a talk by artist Taner Ceylan and art historian Tarkan Okçuoğlu! Based on Taner Ceylan’s works exhibited in Souvenirs of the Future, the speakers will focus on their relationship with Ottoman painting, the historicity of the motifs, and the connections between the contemporary and the traditional.
Yasemin Özcan and Metehan Törer discuss the production processes of their artworks exhibited in Souvenirs of the Future, their relationship to ceramics and engagement with the collection.
In Pursuit of Lost Time follows the stories of characters who trace the memories they lived in the past or believe they lived. These memories sometimes emerge in a museum's corridors overflowing with remnants of passionate love and sometimes at unexpected stops on long journeys.
Pera Learning
Fun workshops for the semester break provide kids and teachers the opportunity to enrich their holiday with art.
The parallel program to Souvenirs of the Future offers fun and inspiring exhibition tours and workshops for different age groups, both online and face-to-face.
Pera Museum Learning Programs organize fun and inspiring exhibition tours and workshops titled “Expression Through Art" as part of Souvenirs of the Future and On the Spot, which will take place from February 16 to March 24, 2024, for everyone aged 18 and over.
Objects also bear the memory of the geography to which they relate. Ceramics, with soil as their primary material, are directly linked to the land where they are produced: forging a direct relationship with earth, ceramics bear the memory of the soil where they come from.
How can the future be imagined by looking at a collection or an archive? The lasting quality of ceramics allows us to ponder how the future might be remembered through a ceramics collection, since they render conceivable time eternal.
In his book exploring the cultural history of souvenirs, Rolf Potts discusses how such objects assume meaning through personal stories: Objects turn into memories with the stories they hold.
Tuesday - Saturday 10:00 - 19:00
Friday 10:00 - 22:00
Sunday 12:00 - 18:00
The museum is closed on Mondays.
On Wednesdays, the students can
visit the museum free of admission.
Full ticket: 300 TL
Discounted: 150 TL
Groups: 200 TL (minimum 10 people)
