ISTANBUL.- Pera Museum presents Notes for Tomorrow, a travelling exhibition conceived by Independent Curators International (ICI), featuring artworks selected by curators from around the world to reflect on a new global reality ushered in by the COVID-19 pandemic. The exhibition will be on view until March 6, 2022 at Pera Museum, Istanbul.

Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation Pera Museum is closing the year 2021 with three new exhibitions. One of these exhibitions, Notes for Tomorrow has been brought to life by Independent Curators International (ICI), taking its inspiration from a series of texts titled “Reports from the Field”, which were created by ICI collaborators and published on the organization’s website during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Turned into a traveling exhibition, Notes for Tomorrow started its world tour at the beginning of 2021. Opened to the public at Cantor Fitzgerald Gallery, Haverford College in the USA, Contemporary Calgary in Canada, and Sifang Art Museum in China, the exhibition will meet with art lovers at Pera Museum, Istanbul between November 23, 2021 - March 6, 2022.

A reflection of times

Bringing together the works of 29 artists from all over the world, Notes for Tomorrow explores the potential of art in the construction of collective memory in a global age. Many of the works in the exhibition question ways of making sense of the world in times of heightened suspicion and insecurity. In this period of cultural transition, each work offers a source of inspiration from the recent past and a perspective to shape the future. Though only some of the works directly reference the pandemic with concepts such as isolation, home life, and care, when seen all together, the entirety of the exhibition is a reflection of the times.

Notes for Tomorrow was curated from selections by alumni of ICI’s Curatorial Intensive, a professional development program founded in 2010 on principles of international exchange, inclusivity, and knowledge-sharing. With the ever-present backdrop of a global pandemic, ICI turned to these curators to question and reassess values and relevance in contemporary culture, and asked each of them to share an artwork they believe is vital to be seen today.

Becky Nahom, ICI Exhibitions Manager, pointing out to the method of the exhibition, says “The Reports from the Field” texts helped assess the impact and how the crisis affected ways of working and adapting in arts organizations. Instagram lives and Zoom conversations became the norm. As we could no longer gather inside, projects also started popping up in windows and balconies, taking art into neighborhoods. Together with my colleagues, we started to develop an exhibition that could reflect on the multiple crises we were facing in content and form. We knew that there was no single voice that could represent this time. Set on developing an exhibition through collective thinking, we as organizers just had to set the parameters.”

Notes for Tomorrow is a traveling exhibition organized and produced by Independent Curators International (ICI) and initiated by Frances Wu Giarratano, Becky Nahom, Renaud Proch, and Monica Terrero. The exhibition was made possible with the generous support of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, VIA Art Fund, and ICI’s Board of Trustees and International Forum. The exhibition is on view between 23 November 2021 – 6 March 2022 at Pera Museum.

Artists

Madiha Aijaz, Ernesto Bautista, Maeve Brennan, Vajiko Chachkhiani, Nothando Chiwanga, Shezad Dawood, Demian DinéYazhi', Cao Guimarães, Ilana Harris-Babou, Rei Hayama, Amrita Hepi, INVASORIX, Tamás Kaszás, Ali Kazma, A Liberated Library for Education, Inspiration, and Action, David Lozano, Mona Marzouk, Joiri Minaya, Peter Morin, Daniela Ortiz, Kristina Kay Robinson, Luiz Roque, Mark Salvatus, Ibrahima Thiam, u/n multitude, Wayne Kaumualii Westlake, Yan Shi.

Curators

Charles Campbell, Freya Chou, Giulia Colletti, Veronica Cordeiro, Allison Glenn, Tessa Maria Guazon, PJ Gubatina Policarpio, Ivan Isaev, Ross Jordan, Drew Kahuʻāina Broderick ve Josh Tengan, Esteban King Álvarez, João Laia, Luis Carlos Manjarrés Martínez, Fadzai Veronica Muchemwa, Lydia Y. Nichols, Marie Hélène Pereira, Balimunsi Philip, Josseline Pinto, Florencia Portocarrero, Shahana Rajani, Rachel Reese, Marina Reyes Franco, Mari Spirito, Alexandra Stock, Eszter Szak.cs, Abhijan Toto, Fatoş Üstek, Su Wei, Sharmila Wood.