Art Metropole

20 Sep. 2017

Announcing The Islands Fall 2017 Arts Writing Residency Recipient - Merve Ünsal

Participant

Merve Ünsal

September 20, 2017 (Fogo Island/Toronto) – Art Metropole and Fogo Island Arts are pleased to announce that Merve Ünsal has been selected to participate in The Islands, a two-part residency that aims to encourage arts writing and criticism in contemporary art. Ünsal is a visual artist based in Istanbul. In her work, she employs text and photography, extending both beyond their form.

The Islands invites emerging and established arts writers and artists with a writing practice to think about the various roles of writing in the arts across two unique locations. The Islands jury included writer, researcher and curator Amy Fung; Alexandra McIntosh, Director of Programs and Exhibitions, Fogo Island Arts; Nicolaus Schafhausen, Director, Kunsthalle Wien and Strategic Director, Fogo Island Arts; Danielle St-Amour, Director of Art Metropole; and curator, cultural worker and writer cheyanne turions.

Ünsal’s proposed project uses text and material practices to explore correlations between art language and military vocabulary. “We are excited to welcome Merve Ünsal as a participant in The Islands residency program,” said jury member cheyanne turions. “Her work is deeply invested in language, artists’ publishing and criticism.”

Ünsal will spend a month on Fogo Island as part of Fogo Island Arts’ residency program, followed by two weeks on Toronto Island at Artscape Gibraltar Point. The residency will culminate in a small publication published and distributed by Art Metropole.

Merve Ünsal holds a MFA in photography and related media from Parsons The New School of Design and a BA in art and archaeology from Princeton University. Ünsal was a participant at the Homework Space Program 2014-15 at Ashkal Alwan, Beirut, and has participated in artist residencies at the Delfina Foundation, London; Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity; and most recently, PRAKSIS, Oslo. Ünsal has exhibited her work in various cities including Beirut, Cairo, Cambridge, Copenhagen, Istanbul, London, New Delhi and New York. She is a fellow with PACTO in 2017-18, an artist-organized research and residency program based in Europe. Ünsal is the founding editor of the artist-driven online publishing initiative m-est.org, founded in 2011

The Islands is a residency partnership conceived and organized by Art Metropole and Fogo Island Arts, with support from Artscape. A call for applications for the third iteration of The Islands will be launched in 2018.

ABOUT FOGO ISLAND ARTS

Fogo Island Arts is a residency-based contemporary art venue that supports research and production of new work for artists, filmmakers, writers, musicians, curators, designers and thinkers from around the world. Since 2008, FIA has brought some of the most exciting, emerging and renowned artists of today to Fogo Island, Newfoundland, Canada to take part in residencies and to present solo exhibitions at the Fogo Island Gallery. Combining contemporary art, iconic architecture and social innovation in a singular setting, FIA is a world-class institution that is uniquely rooted in community. Fogo Island Arts is an initiative of the Shorefast Foundation, a registered charity dedicated to improving the social, cultural and economic conditions on Fogo Island and other small places around the world.

FIA Advisory Board members include Zita Cobb, Eleanor Dawson, Paul Dean, Fabrizio Gallanti, Elisa Nuyten, Silke Otto-Knapp, Todd Saunders, Nicolaus Schafhausen, Kitty Scott and Monika Szewczyk.

ABOUT ART METROPOLE

Art Metropole is a not-for-profit organization with a focus on the production, distribution and contextualization of artist-initiated publication in any media, especially those formats and practices predisposed to sharing and circulation. Art Metropole was founded in Toronto in 1974 by the artists’ group General Idea. Art Metropole is incorporated under the laws of the province of Ontario and a registered charitable organization.

Art Metropole acknowledges the generous support of the City of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council, the Ontario Art Council and the Canada Council for the Arts, which last year invested $153 million to bring the arts to Canadians throughout the country.

ABOUT ARTSCAPE

Artscape is a not-for-profit urban development organization that makes space for creativity and transforms communities. Artscape Gibraltar Point is a secluded artist retreat nestled against the magnificent natural backdrop of Toronto Island, the largest urban car-free community in North America just a 10-minute ferry ride from downtown Toronto. Gibraltar Point hosts programmed artist residencies and provides studio rentals year-round and offers the opportunity to engage with the vibrant arts and events of the larger Artscape community.

Media Information:

Danielle St-Amour
Director, Art Metropole
danielle@artmetropole.com +1 416 703 4400

Alexandra McIntosh
Director of Programs and Exhibitions, Fogo Island Arts
alexandramcintosh@fogoislandarts.ca +1 709-266-1248, ext. 111

Merve Ünsal holds a MFA in photography and related media from Parsons The New School of Design and a BA in art and archaeology from Princeton University. Ünsal was a participant at the Homework Space Program 2014-15 at Ashkal Alwan, Beirut, and has participated in artist residencies at the Delfina Foundation, London; Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity; and most recently, PRAKSIS, Oslo. Ünsal has exhibited her work in various cities including Beirut, Cairo, Cambridge, Copenhagen, Istanbul, London, New Delhi and New York. She is a fellow with PACTO in 2017-18, an artist-organized research and residency program based in Europe. Ünsal is the founding editor of the artist-driven online publishing initiative m-est.org, founded in 2011.

Image

The Islands Fall residency recipient Merve Ünsal. Photo by Nazlı Erdemirel.

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