‘Lecture: Ottomans & Europeans’

For many centuries, Ottomans and Europeans nurtured a relationship mixing both fascination and fear, inspiring a multitude of artists and stimulating a  cross-cultural dialogue. But what can we remember of the Sultans’ era, and how can yesterday’s cultural relations nourish today’s artistic exchanges and cultural diplomacy? Today, EU-Turkey relations  have been more focused on migratory statistics rather than on a possible common future. From that perspective, how can the arts offer answers, stimulate debate, transform the current discourse and help to better confront the collective challenges such as memory, diversity or territory. 

This conference is the closing event for the European project 'Ottomans & Europeans, Reflecting on Five Centuries of Cultural Relations', initiated by BOZAR and five international partners in 2013.
 

PROGRAM

17.00 – 17.30: Welcome coffee
17.30 – 18.00:  Introduction by Paul Dujardin, CEO BOZAR
18.00 – 18.20: Guido Messling, Conservator Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna
The exhibition The Sultan’s World, the Ottoman Orient in Renaissance Art
18.20 – 18.40: Paolo Naldini, Director Cittadellarte –Pistoletto Foundation
Blind Dates Residency Project and the exhibition Ottomans & Europeans: Past and Prospectives
18.40 – 19.30: Debate

Dr. Robert Born (University of Leipzig, Head of the Projectgroup “Osmanischer Orient und Ostmitteleuropa”) & Driant Zeneli (Artist)

Moderator: Defne Ayas (Director Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art Rotterdam)

19.30 – 19.45: Q&A
20.00 – 21.00: Closing Drink