Jennifer Hattam

As the international art crowd prepared to descend on Hong Kong for the city's edition of Art Basel , Time Out Hong Kong solicited editors' picks of participating galleries from Time Out's international team. My brief writeup of Istanbul gallery CDA-Projects appears in the May issue of Time Out Hong Kong under the title " Art Basel: Time Out international editors' picks ": 6. CDA-Projects Gallery (1C23) Focusing on emerging artists from Turkey, CDA-Projects doesn't shy away from challenging, multimedia work that questions gender and cultural norms. Featured artist Zeren Göktan's interactive installation Counter blends technology and tradition to confront viewers with uncomfortable realities about violence against women. Jennifer Hattam, editor-in-chief, Time Out Istanbul

Sometime in the not-so-distant future, visitors to Istanbul will be able to soar above the Bosphorus, crossing the famous strait on an intercontinental aerial tramway, the city’s mayor, Kadir Topbaş, announced last month. With Istanbul in the throes of a building boom, it’s not the only seemingly fanciful idea that’s been floated recently by a public official. During the 2011 election season, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan unveiled his self-described "crazy project" to build a second, man-made strait parallel to the Bosphorus. Neither idea has yet reached the actual planning stage, but there's at least one reason not to doubt them: Both Topbaş’s cable car and Erdoğan’s canal were first envisioned by architects and engineers in Ottoman times, along with other equally ambitious building projects­ -- some of which have actually been carried out.... Amid rapid "urban transformation" in Istanbul, it was fascinating to come acros...

It’s hard to believe now that Istanbul has become a world-famous tourist destination, but when the Turkish architect Ali Saim Ülgen first visited the city’s historic center as a youth in 1930, its many monuments were neglected, and little-known... A worker posing on a dome (date unknown), Ali Saim Ülgen Archive Inspired by the awe he felt on this first visit, Ülgen later became the first architectural restoration expert of the Turkish Republic and wrote one of the era's first books on architectural preservation. But though his influence was widespread during his lifetime, Ülgen today is almost as forgotten as Istanbul’s grand monuments might have been without his intervention. The Istanbul-based cultural institution SALT aims to bring Ülgen's work back to prominence with the exhibit " Modern Turkey’s Discovery of the Ottoman Heritage: The Ali Saim Ülgen Archive ." I interviewed associate director of research and programs Lorans Tanatar Baruh for two art...

The two great cities fashion designer Serra Türker has called home are reflected in her past-meets-present style, which combines the knowledge and workmanship of Istanbul’s longtime leatherworkers, metalsmiths, and other craftsmen with her sleek, thoroughly modern geometric designs... When Beirut-based lifestyle magazine Selections asked me to do a Q&A with a Turkish fashion designer for the Spring 2013 issue, I followed a tip from fellow Istanbul journalist Vanessa Larson to check out the work of Serra Türker. The Istanbul-born, U.S.-educated handbag designer had recently moved back home from New York to open her first boutique. She cheerfully chatted by email about Istanbul's best and worst qualities, the city's best-kept secret, and her favorite way to spend a day. Read " My City with Serra Türker " in the Spring 2013 issue of Selections or view the article as a jpg by clicking on the image below.

A government proposal to lengthen the duration of paid maternity leave from four months to six months is generating apprehension rather than applause from women in Turkey. "It is a positive development in principle, but may become an obstacle for women to return to work," Gulden Turktan, the Istanbul-based president of the Women Entrepreneurs Association of Turkey (KAGIDER), told Women's eNews. Women already start facing barriers in working life once they get pregnant, added Nur Ger, the founder and CEO of the Istanbul-based SUTEKS Textiles and the chair of the Turkish Industry and Business Association's gender equality working group. "There is a tendency among employers to avoid hiring pregnant women since they will need to take their [maternity] leave soon," she said. The maternity leave discussion currently underway in the Turkish cabinet comes amid increasing pressure on Turkish women to have more children. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan ha...

The girl's wide eyes gaze out expectantly from beneath her blue-and-gold turban-style headdress, a single teardrop pearl glimmering in her ear. The photograph is a near-match for Johannes Vermeer's famous painting, "The Girl With a Pearl Earring," except for one thing; cuts and bruises mar the subject's eyes, cheeks and chin. Turkish artist Derya Kilic's recent photography exhibition "To Know, To See . . . ," which closed in mid-January after a month at the Macka Sanat Galerisi in Istanbul, confronted viewers with a series of well-known figures -- women painted by the likes of Salvador Dali, Edvard Munch, Leonardo Da Vinci and Gustav Klimt, each bearing the marks of violence on their faces and bodies.... Read the rest of my article for Women's eNews about female artists in Turkey grappling with issues of gender-based violence in their work: " Turkish Artist Paints Cuts, Bruises on Old Masters "

From hot young designers to fine cuisine, artistic treasures to awe-inspiring views, Istanbul’s winding streets are as full of contemporary culture as they are of ancient history. Here’s a perfect weekend on both sides of the beautiful Bosphorus... The Kuwait-based luxury lifestyle magazine B Journal recently asked me to whip up on short notice a weekend itinerary for Istanbul that avoids tourist traps, takes visitors to the lesser-known Asian side of the city, and ties into the magazine's "Style Issue" with a bit of a fashion focus. Download a pdf version of my " 48 Hours in Istanbul " itinerary.