Always Here

“Always Here” showcases a selection of works from the museum collection acquired by the Women Artists Fund, established by Istanbul Modern in 2016 to support the production of women artists in Turkey, increase public awareness of their work, and strengthen their representation. The title, “Always Here,” is a reference to feminist art historian Linda Nochlin’s seminal essay “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?,” published in Artnews in 1971.

Examining the cultural basis of exclusion and the naturalization of sexist structures, Nochlin states that art is shaped by education and years of experimentation. Throughout history, women everywhere were unable to receive education on equal terms with men, meaning that they had to expand the roles society envisioned for them to exist as artists. Thanks to a long struggle to achieve equality, women now have more opportunities to exhibit their work in museums, and to be represented in collections. From the outset, Istanbul Modern’s collection has featured women artists from different generations who came to prominence through the diversity of their subjects, techniques and materials and their diligence and courage in creating unique artistic languages.

“Always Here” shares the strong voices of women artists who, because of their century-long struggle recorded in Turkey, have expanded their political, cultural and social space and produced commentary on current issues. Works acquired for the museum collection with the support of the Women Artists Fund can be viewed both in the “Always Here” selection and the collection exhibition.

Artists: Mehtap Baydu, Hera Büyüktaşcıyan, İnci Eviner, Selma Gürbüz, Nilbar Güreş, Sibel Horada, Bengü Karaduman, Zeynep Kayan, Ayça Telgeren, Güneş Terkol, Burcu Yağcıoğlu.

Curator: Öykü Özsoy Sağnak

Assitant Curator: Melodi Gülbaba

Zeynep Kayan, 1986
From the series “Constructed“ V2, 2016
Video, without sound
00’43”

Istanbul Museum of Modern Art Photography Collection
Acquired by the Women Artists Fund.

2020 members of the Women Artists Fund:
Zeynep Akçakayalıoğlu, Berrak Barut, Revna Demirören, Suzan Sabancı Dinçer,
Oya Eczacıbaşı, Şeli Elvaşvili, Selin Gülçelik, Banu İpeker, Beril Miskavi,
Meltem Demirören Oktay, Nesrin Sarıoğlu, Türkan Özilhan Tacir