Esra Özkan Topal

Ozkan Topal, Esra
Esra Özkan Topal, Independent Curator, Istanbul, Turkey.

Conference Report. December 2024

Day 1: Introduction and Initial Impressions

The conference began with a brief introductory session and breakfast in the morning. This networking session proved to be highly beneficial, enabling me to establish connections and engage in conversations with attendees throughout the day.

Presentations and Inspiring Highlights

Example of Guggenheim Bilbao:

  • The presented examples were inspiring, both in terms of architectural approaches and technical solutions. Their report, particularly addressing topics like carbon footprint, climate control parameters, and LED lighting, was concise and informative, offering fresh perspectives in the field.

Mark Bradford’s Presentation:

  • Mark Bradford’s artistic practice and presentation were deeply inspiring.

Olafur Eliasson’s Exhibition:

  • Visiting the exhibition was a remarkable experience. Having previously visited his exhibition at Istanbul Modern, I found the installations here distinct and innovative.

Haus der Kunst:

  • Another notable presentation from the first day.

Networking and Evening Program

  • The morning networking session allowed me to form new connections, which I continued to develop throughout the day. The evening dinner organized by Getty Foundation was a unifying experience.

Special Inspirations

  • The Experiments in Art and Technology exhibition was particularly captivating, featuring works by artists such as John Cage and Robert Whitman.

Day 2: New Perspectives

The second day began with presentations at the Hammer Museum.

Noteworthy Presentations

Fogo Island Project:

  • Presented as an extreme model, this project categorized its framework under Sacred Capital Value, including Cultural Capital, Natural Capital, Physical Capital, Human Capital, and Social Capital. The community-centered growth and economic development strategies were particularly impressive.

Ibrahim’s Presentation:

  • The projects implemented in Ghana provided an opportunity to observe approaches from a different geography. This presentation offered a refreshing perspective beyond Western-centric narratives.

Mai Abu Eldahab:

  • Her presentation and the models she introduced were highly insightful.

Visits

  • The exhibition at the Hammer Museum was impactful.
  • Visits to NASA JPL and RedCat were instrumental in understanding the relationship between technology and art. They also contributed to my curatorial development by exposing me to contemporary projects and enabling interactions with artists working in these fields.

Day 3: Closing and Key Topics

The final day of the conference centered around discussions prompted by the question “Whom?”

Highlighted Discussions

Indigenous Crisis in America:

  • The underrepresentation of Indigenous peoples in the art world emerged as a significant point of awareness. This highlighted the need for more collaborative production in art.

Western Theology and Neoliberalism:

  • Discussions on these subjects facilitated an exploration of the historical connections between art and society.

Edgar Calel:

  • The examples shared by the Guatemalan artist were profoundly inspiring.

Candice Hopkins:

  • Her talk on acknowledgment, territory, and solidarity was particularly impactful.

· Special Inspirations

  • The Digital Witness exhibition provided a narrative on the intersection of technology and art, marking it as an essential experience for my career development.
  • Summary
  • The conference program was exceptionally well-organized. The museums I visited and the exhibitions I experienced offered immense inspiration. Casual encounters, such as morning coffee breaks and conversations during bus rides, made being a part of the CIMAM community even more meaningful.
  • I intentionally prioritized attending technology-focused exhibitions, observing the expansive integration of art and technology in Los Angeles. However, this aspect was not fully reflected in the conference program. Topics such as blockchain technologies, bio-art, and bio-design could have been explored as potential integrations of sustainability and art.
  • The artist presentations predominantly adhered to analog approaches. I believe it is essential to delve deeper into the intersection of rising technologies and art. Incorporating technological perspectives when discussing the near future would bridge contemporary art and digital art while connecting analog and digital methodologies
  • Thank you for this wonderful opportunity. As an independent curator, it was a conference that significantly contributed to my personal and professional development.

Biography

Esra Özkan Topal (b. 1990) has been working as an independent curator and researcher in the art field, both internationally and locally, since 2015. She focused her studies on digital arts and has been producing exhibitions of digital arts since then. Esra has expertise in artificial intelligence, immersive art, NFTs, VR, XR, and AR. She collaborates with artists working in these sub-fields from all around the world and focusing human-machine, human-nature, and machine-nature relationships through the perspectives of art and technology.

Esra curatorial practice focuses on the raw material to highlight cognitive experiences created by interdisciplinary artists using emerging new technologies. She frequently collaborates with interdisciplinary artists/technologists who deal with the political and social problems caused by emerging technologies. Her curatorial and academic writings bring philosophy together with the post-digital terminology and the effects of post-human concepts in interdisciplinary arts. Currently, she is a guest lecturer at Istinye University with a lesson on Artificial Intelligent and Art, Philosophy and Social Thought, Master of Arts Degree, Bilgi University, Istanbul.

Esra Özkan Topal, Independent Curator, Istanbul, Turkey, has been awarded by SAHA.