Auteur/autrice : Theatre Cultures

7 September – 22 October 2012

Museum of Photography, Thessaloniki

Jane Evelyn Atwood (US), Bruno Barbey (MA), Samuel Bollendorff (FR), Eric Bouvet (FR), Kathryn Cook (US), Claudine Doury (FR), Carolyn Drake (US), Nikos Economopoulos (GR), Rena Effendi (AZ), George Georgiou (CY), Harry Gruyaert (BE), Guillaume Herbaut (FR), Ed Kashi (US), Massimo Mastrorillo (IT), Steve McCurry (US), Davide Monteleone (IT), Christopher Morris (US), Paolo Pellegrin (IT), Anders Petersen (SE), Reza (AZ), Anthony Suau (US), Gaël Turine (BE), Michel Vanden Eeckhoudt (BE), Ami Vitale (US), Vanessa Winship (GB)

Co-organization: Museum of Photography, Thessaloniki / Zaman Publishing Group / Thessaloniki Port Authority
With the financial support: Zaman Publishing Group / OPAP
As part of the Parallel Program of the PhotoBiennale and of the program "Thessaloniki-Cultural Crossroads"
With the cooperation: Turkish Consulate General in Thessaloniki
Under the auspices: Ministry of Macedonia and Thrace

The opening of the exhibition will be held the Minister of Macedonia and Thrace, Mr. Theodoros Karaoglou (Thursday, 13 September 2012, 20.00).

The Turkish daily newspaper, Zaman, on the occasion of its 25th anniversary, invited 25 internationally renowned photographers to Turkey as part of the newspaper’s Time in Turkey photography project (www.timeinturkey.org). Each one of them has worked around the globe under difficult conditions and often facing dangerous situations.

By accepting the invitation of Zaman to travel throughout the multicultural Anatolia, the photographers encountered stories of Turkey; stories which are witnessed every day but rarely noticed. Using their skills and expertise they managed to encompass all aspects and views of contemporary Turkey, creating a visual journey of the country.

Thessaloniki is the second stop in the exhibition’s journey to Europe. Time in Turkey was shown in London and has already traveled to 11 cities in Turkey, included Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir.

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Turkey from a Global Perspective

The Zaman daily is crowning its 25-year journey with a project that is the most comprehensive work of photography ever launched in Turkey. Within the project, titled Türkiye’de Zaman / Time in Turkey, our newspaper invited 25 world renowned photographers to tell stories in photos that reflect life and issues unique to Turkey from their particular points of view. These masters of photography came together for the big “photo of Turkey” for Zaman. The photographers travelled throughout Anatolia, the cradle of many civilizations.

Experienced professionals and journalists from Steve McCurry to Paolo Pellegrin and from Eric Bouvet to Anders Petersen showed us stories from our country that we had not seen, although we had looked. While Jane Evelyn Atwood descended into a coal mine in Zonguldak, Bruno Barbey worked in places that reflected the historical background of İstanbul. Samuel Bollendorff searched the lives that changed due to “water” in the Southeast. Eric Bouvet covered night shift police officers in İstanbul. While Kathryn Cook pursued the traces of 4,000-year-old civilizations in the Ahlat district of Bitlis province, Claudine Doury chronicled young women who are textile workers. Carolyn Drake focused on football culture. Nikos Economopoulos compiled road trip stories from the East and Southeast to the depths of Anatolia. Michel Vanden Eeckhoudt was the guest of Turkish nomads living in Mersin. Rena Effendi worked in the labyrinth-like streets of Tarlabaşı, a neighborhood very close to İstiklal Street in İstanbul, while George Georgiou showed how Anatolia has changed. Harry Gruyaert reflected the colors of İstanbul. Guillaume Herbaut spent time in the highlands of Rize to depict tea culture. Ed Kashi took photos depicting economic development in the country, while Massimo Mastrorillo looked into the new Turkey that is being rebuilt on the margins of urban transformation. Steve McCurry included the whirling dervishes in Bursa province in his portfolio. Davide Monteleone was around the Marmara Sea to capture the importance of the Bosporus and Çanakkale straits. Christopher Morris photographed President Abdullah Gül with the people around him at the Tarabya presidential residence. Paolo Pellegrin took photos of the Kırkpınar oil wrestling in Edirne. Anders Petersen shot minority groups, and Reza photographed an Ashura ceremony in İstanbul. Anthony Suau focused on the concepts of wealth and prosperity, as Gaël Turine looked at the TV industry by examining the series “Valley of the Wolves.” Vanessa Winship presented portraits of children who attended the Turkish Olympiads from all over the world, while Ami Vitale portrayed the other side of Kapadokya (Cappadocia).

This project also featured a continuous and open workshop throughout the year. Each photographer we invited was accompanied by a photojournalist from Zaman. We did not limit the workshop to Zaman as colleagues working for other media outlets as well as freelance photographers were involved in the process by attending meetings and presentations made in the context of the workshop. The Time in Turkey project is an important contribution enabling photography in Turkey to achieve universal standards as well as positively impacting the development of photography as a business.

Now is the time to look at Turkey from a global perspective.

Selahattin Sevi
Photo Editor of Zaman Daily

Museum of Photography Thessaloniki