History
and Activities of Sanart
The title Sanart
is made up of the words SANAT which means ART in Turkish, and the
word ART in English.The Sanart Association was founded in 1991 as
Sanart Association for the Promotion of Visual Art in Turkey,
on the initiative of Benoit Junod, the First Secretary of the Swiss
Embassy at that time. It held its first International Symposium
in 1992 on the theme Identity, Marginality, Space with
the participation of artists, architects, curators, critics and
scholars from various fields and from more than twenty countries.
The exhibitions included a Cobra exhibition which was brought with
the support of the Danish, Dutch, and Belgian Embassies in Ankara,
a Wölfli exhibiton which was made possible by the Swiss Embassy,
an exhibition of contemporary British artists which was made possible
by the British Council and a photography exhibition of Evgen Bavcar.
Architects such as Mario Botta, Hans Hollein and Raj Rewal were
guests who presented their works to the Ankara community. Other
noteworthy events were the Earth and Fiber exhibition
which brought together ceramics and textile artists from all over
the world and a painting exhibition of artists from Southern America
which was made possible with the support and cooperation of Jorge
Glusberg.
The last international
symposia organised by Sanart took place in 1995 on the theme of
Art and Taboo in 1997 on Art and Environment,
in 2000 on Art and Science and in 2002 on Art and
Engagement. In 2001 Sanart organized a smaller international
symposium to celebrate its joining the International Association
of Aesthetics as national member, under the title Art and Aesthetics
in the 20th Century. The proceedings of this symposium was
published by the editor Ipek Tureli. These events brought together
hundreds of international artists and scholars from all corners
of the world and were followed by an audience between 400 and 500
students and professionals each time. The first two symposia were
also followed up by publications of proceedings and of catalogs
of the exhibitions. Each Sanart program also included workshops
and open space events which could actively involve residents of
Ankara or university students.
The Art
and Taboo symposium was housed at the Scientific and Technical
Research Council of Turkey while the activities of Art and
Environment in 1997 took place at the Middle East Technical
University, and the building of the Faculty of Architecture was
the exhibition ground for many different artistic performances and
installations.
In 2000 The
International Symposium and art events centered around the theme
Art and Science as it was thought that the 3. Millenium would
be a time when once again art and science would have to cooperate.
One of the major themes was electro-magnetic technologies and the
computer and how these influenced art. Ali Alpar the renowned Turkish
physicist presented the tapes made of the sounds of different revolutions
of stars which sounded like the music of the universe; some architects
showed interesting designs that defied gravity, we heard about projects
in Saudi Arabia where the desert would be forrested according to
original specimens of seeds found in the region, some people presented
images of virtual reality, etc.
Although these
international events take place regularly each two or two and a
half years, once a new theme is decided upon, a pre-symposium event
is usually programmed for brainstorming, for preparing Turkish intellectuals
to the theme, and for introducing the theme to the public. Conferences,
panel discussions or a days forum have usually taken place, beginning
a year ahead of the International event, and the proceedings of
these have been published ahead of the international symposium.
In 2001 the
Sanart Association decided to change its name to Sanart, Association
of Aesthetics and Visual Culture and applied for membership in the
International Association of Aesthetics. Upon its acceptance as
a constitutive member it decided to celebrate the occasion with
a smaller symposium only in English and on the subject of Aesthetics.
In June 15-16, 2001, with the cooperation of the Middle East Technical
University, an international aesthetic symposium was held with the
title, Retrospective: Aesthetics and Art in the 2O th Century.
The proceedings are now in the process of being prepared for
publication before the end of the year.
The last International
Symposium held at the Middle East Technical University was on may
1-3, 2002 on the theme of Art and Social Engagement and was concerned
in how artists are getting involved in social welfare; some examples
were artists creating sculpture for the blind, or architects working
for derelict or earthquake areas, designers working for disabled,
museums working in lower income areas, etc. The pre-symposium animations
will began during fall of 2001, both at the Middle East Technical
University and at other venues in Ankara.
Sanart's next
important project will be to organise a summer school on Highland
Settlements and Sustainability in the spring of 2004 in Eastern
Turkey. This will be open to architecture students and to environmentalists
and aestheticians. The details will be anounced on this website
in the fall of 2003.
Sanart Association of
Aesthetics and Visual Culture will host the 2007 World Congress
of Aesthetics in Ankara, at the Middle Aest Technical University.
Official anouncements will be made dering and after the next World
Congress of Aesthetics that will take place at Rio in July 2004.
The proceedings
book of Art and Identity (1992) was published only in Turkish translation;
Art and Taboo (1995) was published in the original and in Turkish.
Art and Environment (1997), Art and Science (2000) are being prepared
for publication. The proceedings of our first Aesthetics conference:
Retrospective: Art and Aesthetics in the 20th Century has
appeared in spring 2002. All of these publications can be ordered through canabilsel@gmail.com
All these events were
sponsored, over the years, by more than 40 private and public institutions.
Amongst many sponsors and co-organisers Sanart is proud to mention
theTurkish Ministry of Culture,Turkish Ministry of Tourism, Is Bank,
1992 Ankara Greater Municipality and mayor Karayalçin, the Çankaya
Municipality, The Kavala Group, the European Commission Representation,
the Association of Architects 1927, MESA, Metaksan, Italian Institute
of Culture, Goethe Institute, British Council, French Cultural Institute,
Swiss Embassy, Turkish Airlines, Directory of Railways, Directory
of Highways, Arçelik,and the Administration and Faculty of Architecture
of the Middle East Technical University, Nev Gallery, TESK, Murat
Yazici, Yüksel Erimtan, Ulusoy, Varan and Asya Nakliyat. We would
like to take this opportunity to thank all our many sponsors, for
their contributions to bring to Ankara high quality artistic events.
The Middle East Technical University Rectors Office and the Faculty
of Architecture have been regular supporters of the Sanart Association
in every possible way.
Click
here to see some selected events and activities from the history
of Sanart in chronological order.
SANART
Association of Aesthethics and Visual Culture © 2002
