Emre Baykal to curate Pavilion of Turkey in Venice |

Emre Baykal has been appointed curator of the Pavilion of Turkey for the 55th edition of the Venice Biennale. The nomination came from the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Art (İKSV), which oversees the management of the Pavilion. Baykal is currently the director of ARTER, an exhibition space supported by Vehbi Koç Foundation that hosted, among others, the solo shows of Mona Hatoum (“You Are Still Here”, 2012), Kutlug Ataman (“Mesopotamian Dramaturgies”, 2011) and Deniz Gül (“5 Bufet Person”, 2011). But Baykal’s highly regarded reputation is also due to the Istanbul Biennial, where he was Assistant Director from 1995 to 2000, then Director from 2000 to 2005. From 2005 to 2008 he was Director at Santralistanbul and at Depo in 2009. Baykal’s appointment strengthens the program for the Pavilion of Turkey that İKSV started in 2007 with Hüseyin B. Alptekin (curated by Vasif Kortun), continued in 2009 with Banu Cennetoğlu and Ahmet Öğüt (curated by Başak Şenova) and in 2011 with Ayşe Erkmen with the curatorship of Fulya Erdemci.