The 11th International Istanbul Biennial bears the title: “What Keeps Mankind Alive?”, the English translation of the song “Denn wovon lebt der Mensch?” from the Threepenny Opera (Dreigroschenoper) by Bertolt Brecht. Thus it’s no surprise that the Istanbul Biennale presents explicitly political works from artists such as Hüseyin Bahri Alptekin, Wafa Hourani, Michel Journiac, Nilbar Güreş, Shahab Fotouhi, Marina Naprushkina, Bureau d’études, Nevin Aldağ, Aydan Murtezaoğlu & Bülent Şangar, Etcétera, Museum of American Art, Marko Peljhan, and Sanja Iveković.

“What Keeps the Mankind Alive?” has been curated by What, How & for Whom (WHW), a non-profit organisation for visual culture and curators’ collective formed in 1999 and based in Zagreb, Croatia. Its members are curators Ivet Ćurlin, Ana Dević, Nataša Ilić and Sabina Sabolović, and designer and publicist Dejan Kršić.

The Istanbul Biennale takes place in Antrepo No.3 (Karaköy), Feriköy Greek School (Şişli) and Tobacco Warehouse (Tophane). In this video, we have a look at Antrepo No.3. The 11th International Istanbul Biennial runs until November 8, 2009.

11th International Istanbul Biennale: “What Keeps Mankind Alive?”. Press Preview, September 10, 2009.

11. Uluslararası İstanbul Bienali: “İnsan Neyle Yaşar?”. İstanbul’u bir sanat platformuna dönüştüren İstanbul Bienali’nde, Antrepo No.3, Tütün Deposu ve Feriköy Rum Okulu’nda, toplam 70 sanatçının ses ve video yerleştirmelerinden, fotoğraf, heykel ve resme kadar uzanan 120′den fazla eseri sergileniyor.

Update: Review by Maureen Sullivan at V Magazine.

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• 11th International Istanbul Biennale 2009 / part 2/2