European Literature is in Antalya 1 – 6 March 2010

The Goethe-Institut Istanbul is very proud to be organizing, a large-scale, high-profile arts tour throughout Turkey and the EU from May 2009 until June 2010. Funded by the European Union’s Cultural Bridges program, the tour will bring 48 authors and countless musicians, photographers, filmmakers and artists from eight participating European countries (Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria) to 24 cities throughout Turkey. They will be accompanied by a bookmobile containing the showcased literature, internet terminals and audiovisual resources.

Each Turkish city will host a week-long “EU Festival”, with numerous readings, discussions, concerts, exhibitions and film screenings giving local audiences the chance to engage first-hand with European art forms and ideas. By organizing video camps, setting the readings at universities and schools, and offering an interactive blog, the project aims to appeal especially to young people. The tour will culminate in a special gala in Istanbul on April 16, 2010 to mark the city’s celebrations as European Capital of Culture 2010.

Continuing in the EU, the tour will then showcase readings by 16 Turkish authors and concerts by various Turkish musicians in Sofia, Bucharest, Vienna, Venice, Zurich, and the two other Capitals of Culture 2010, Pécs and Essen. The crowning event will unite all participating European and Turkish authors at a festive gala in Brussels.

Activity partners include the consulates, embassies and cultural institutes of Austria, Belgium, Italy, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Switzerland in Turkey, as well as the Anadolu Kültür foundation, Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV), Istanbul 2010 - European Capital of Culture Agency, Istanbul Bilgi University and the Austrian High School Alumni Foundation (ALV). Additional partners include the S. Fischer Foundation, the Cultural Foundation of German and Turkish Businesspeople, Contretype – Contemporary Photographic Art Center in Brussels and the Hungarian House of Photography in Budapest. This project has been made possible with the generous support of Mercedes-Benz Türk A.Ş.

For more information about the Project and the journey please click here.

For more information about the activities in Antalya please click here.