On Saturday, 1 May, one of the designers of the Microbial Fruits of Istanbul project, Orkan Telhan comes together with Nazlı Arda, a molecular biologist from the Istanbul University’s Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, one of the partner institutions of the project and historian and food critic Nazlı Pişkin. In this interdisciplinary talk moderated by the other partners of the project, Kokopelli Şehirde and Nadas İstanbul, the discussion will be shaped around Istanbul's gardens, microorganisms, underground and aboveground diversity, food and fermentation, addressing primarily the Microbial Fruits of Istanbul project. The talk also aims at introducing the microbial kit containing the microorganisms that were taken out of the gardens of Istanbul and been reproduced in a laboratory environment within the scope of the project, as well as bringing them together with the volunteers who wish to establish new relationships with these microorganisms by including them in their food and soil. The talk will be held in Turkish.     The New Civic Rituals Talks are supported by VitrA.

Not quite a finissage! is designed as a day-long event which partially marks closure while opening new works to the public. The event  focused on the research projects displayed in the Library of Land and Sea but also encompassed many surprises reflecting the spirit of this edition. Co-hosted with the Design Museum and Het Nieuwe Instituut and in collaboration with calling, the event made its onlinepremiere, on Saturday, 24 April. It comprises talks, walks, performances and screenings from an international line-up of designers and artists including Dele Adeyemo, Ibiye Camp and Dámaso Randulfe, Black Athena Collective, Counterspace, Linda Schilling Cuellar, Dansbana!, Sophie Krier & Eric Wong, Aslıhan Demirtaş, FRAUD, Ilana Harris-Babou, Ayşenaz Toker and Merve Tuna, Anna Puigjaner – MAIO & Alina Abouelenin, BUREAU, Pelin Tan & Vivien Sansour & Luigi Coppola, Orkan Telhan & elii, theOtherDada, TiriLab, Aslı Uludağ. Not quite a finissage! was shared through İKSV’s YouTube channel as well as the websites of the Design Museum and Het Nieuwe Instituut. For more information about the programme, please click here.   Watch Not quite a finissage!

Developing a new ‘oral-culture’, Microbial Fruits of Istanbul installation allows the audience to experience, empathise with, and learn about the heritage of gardens in relation to the ecological and socio-political realities of our time. During April, every Friday at 15:00, there will be a live performance from a robotic speaking parrot who will deliver their histories in the form of fables written for future generations.

Developing a new ‘oral-culture’, Microbial Fruits of Istanbul installation will distribute a fermentation kit to make microbial fruits – microorganisms, ingredients, and recipe – that allow the audience to experience, empathise with, and learn about the heritage of gardens in relation to the ecological and socio-political realities of our time. On 2 April, as the kick-off event of the public programme of the Microbial Fruits of Istanbul, designers of the project, Orkan Telhan and elii come together with Mariana Pestana, the curator of the 5th Istanbul Design Biennial and Deniz Ova, the director of the Istanbul Design Biennial. In this online public talk, the project and the public programme will be introduced and some of the questions that had been raised on microorganisms will be discussed.  The talk will be held in English. The New Civic Rituals Talks are supported by VitrA.    

Can Batukan and Başak Ozan Özparlak will give a speech titled The Human-Robot Distinction through 2030 and Beyond on March 6, in parallel with Empathy Talks. In this talk Can Batukan will delve into the human-robot distinction while expanding on the connection between the “soulfulness of the robot” and “soullessness of the human'' in the 21st century by focusing on dichotomies such as immortality and mortality, life and death, living and non-living, and soul and body.

By situating robots in a position that does more than granting them a legal personality or responsibility, and starting off from the question of “Should we defend the rights of robots as much as we defend the rights of trees, water or animals?”, Başak Ozan Özparlak will open into discussion a law system that prioritises humans in line with the dichotomy between living and non-living.

The talk will be held in Turkish.

Visual: Metropolis (Fritz Lang, 1927)

Watch the video recording.

One of the supporters of Germinator, EK BİÇ YE İÇ gives an online lecture on sprouts and microgreens. This workshop to be broadcast online provides introductory information on the significance of highly nutritious microgreens, how they can be produced at home, and how they can be incorporated into our meals. Germinator will be reactivated in cooperation with EK BİÇ YE İÇ in April 2021.    Watch the online lecture.