What Mesut Arslan, artistic director of 0090, likes most about his festival is how it opens up people's eyes to what Turkey has to offer culturally. "We break down the walls of what people think about Turkey and the arts," he says. "It's not all traditional and folkloric. It's much more than that."
Arslan, who is Turkish, has been living in Flanders for almost two decades, and he started the festival six years ago with two friends. The trigger was a suggestion by the Antwerp province for a festival for the Turkish community. The discussions involved various groups, but Arslan insisted it should be "an arts festival focusing on Turkey" rather than simply "a Turkish festival", which risked reinforcing a "Turkish delight" stereotype of the country.
No one could accuse 0090 of that. Its performances, which take place at Monty, the Toneelhuis and other venues across Antwerp, include contemporary dance premieres, an installation performance and new theatre works. Nor are the performers limited to those of
Belgian or Turkish nationality. "There are direct and indirect links with Turkey," Arslan says. That includes artists who have worked with Istanbul artists or whose work has to do with Istanbul in some way.
0090 is also keen to encourage exchanges and collaborations between Turkey and Flanders. For example, Flemish musician Eric Thielemans drove to Istanbul in a car packed with musical instruments to spend a month in the city. The result of this project, in which he asks questions about his role as a musician and the part played by the travelling musician, will be presented during the festival as a live radio performance called We Are the World.
Ties between Turkey and Belgium are also a key aspect of Ghent's Istanbul Ekspres, which includes everything from folklore to world music, via jazz, modern rock, hip-hop, pop and dance.
Attila Bakiroglu of intercultural centre De Centrale is organising the festival together with arts centre Vooruit. Bakiroglu and his team have brought Turkish and Belgian musicians together; in some cases, the local musicians travelled to Turkey for rehearsals - in others, the Turkish musicians will arrive in Belgium just a few days ahead of the festival.
The programme includes Belgian jazz group Aka Moon taking the stage with percussionist Misirli Ahmet; Tuur Florizoone exploring Baba Zula's exotic punk, and
Wouter Vandenabeele presenting his Istanbul Ghent project.
This year, which will be the third and final time that Istanbul Ekspres takes place, there will not only be music but also film screenings and a photo exhibition. Some 36 photographs of the city of Istanbul were selected in a competition that was open to budding and established photographers: the selection is on display at Vooruit and De Centrale.
As of next year, it's possible that Istanbul Ekspres may merge with 0090. Stay tuned and don't miss this year.
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