Misplaced Jealousy? Istanbul vs. the Ruhr

If we can identify a surfeit of culture by the concentrations of artistic production found in any particular city, then my city may be a black hole of culture.  After a visit to the Ruhr, I realized a major void in concentrations of production, and thereby culture.

The photo on the left was taken from the terrace of the Dortmunder U in Dortmund, Germany.










On the right is a photo from the terrace of Caravansarai Art Space in Istanbul.







Both cities have their own histories and challenges. Dortmund is part of the Ruhr region which is known for it’s faded industry. Istanbul is known for its position as the center of numerous civilizations. Whereas tourists flock to Istanbul for its history and culture, Dortmund and the Ruhr region does not have the same sort of draw.

But which one is more amenable to ‘culture’? I suppose that depends upon how you define culture.

The one thing that became clear to me during a recent meeting of 2010lab.tv writers at the ecce headquarters in Dortmund, was that concentrations of artistic production are what really determine the cultural face of a city.



While banks and enormous cultural agencies in Istanbul may do a lot of collecting and showing of art - they are really not interested in concentrating communities of artists together to work. What is it that they fear? Or is it just an oversight?

In the Ruhr, places for artists to work, gather and be visible abound. Independent and institutional cultural agencies alike understand that the power in revitalizing cities lies in offering opportunities for creative thinkers to interact.

My most jealous moment during the weekend in the Ruhr, was our lunch visit to Unperfekthaus in Essen. It was there that this disparity between the cultural life in Istanbul and the rest of Europe came to the fore.

Showing once again how Turkish culture managers ignore the importance of concentrations of production in promoting contemporary culture.

When we started the Caravansarai as naive Americans, our vision was to have a vibrant, casual place where artists could work and live and meet. But the reality of the situation has reared its ugly head - we are not that free here. Around the corner from our space is a major culture center - SALT. Owned by Garanti Bank, is the ordained center for everything ‘contemporary’. But is there a place for production in the space? No. Showing once again how Turkish culture managers ignore the importance of concentrations of production in promoting contemporary culture.

The photographs below were taken inside the Unperfekthaus in Essen. There is a restaurant, a guest house, open studios where artists can work for free if they allow visitors to walk freely in their workspaces. And people do congregate here. And they hang gay erotica in the public restrooms.  And the community is proud of it. Why shouldn’t I be jealous?

Caravansarai Terrace Photo by Jonathan Lewis