In collaboration with Pinelo Art Gallery and AWITA NEW YORK, the exhibition “Carnival of Birds” will welcome art enthusiasts in New York from June 27 to 29, 2025.
Carnival of Birds: A Journey to Utopia
To fly—to escape the weight of the earth, to leave pain and sorrow behind, to rise into the light of the sun and be reborn with a joy reminiscent of childhood… Just as Aristophanes envisioned in his comedy The Birds (Ornithes) in 414 BC. To find refuge from wars, conflicts, and discrimination; to resist the established order through irony and color; and to reach a new world, a dreamland filled with happiness—this is a utopia longed for by all artists and people alike.
This group exhibition titled “Carnival of Birds” embarks on a journey to an imaginary land long sought after since Antiquity—guided by the theme of the “bird,” a figure both symbolic and formal. The artworks, spanning painting, photography, and various other disciplines, move along the boundaries between nature and culture, human and animal, mythology and the contemporary. In this exhibition, birds emerge as metaphors—for escape, for seeking, and at times, for rebuilding.
Like Aristophanes, the artists construct their own heroes from their own dreams. Fantastical structures descending from the sky, grotesque creatures, and images that hover somewhere between lightness and noise… Each piece draws the viewer into a contemporary carnival—a visual festivity where rules are temporarily suspended, identities shift, and new meanings take flight.
This exhibition invites us to see the world through the eyes of birds, to rediscover the power of humor and imagination. Because sometimes, the most radical questions can only be asked from the sky and the clouds.
Exhibition History
The “Carnival of Birds” exhibition is an interdisciplinary art gathering inspired by Aristophanes’ renowned play The Birds (Ornithes). It was first realized in the 1990s under the curatorship of Gürsel Boyla at Barometre Art Center and drew attention with the participation of nearly 100 artists.
The concept was revived in the summer of 2023 as a “retro” exhibition at the Büyükada Islands Cultural Association, initiated by artist Nihal Güreş. It was then presented again as a group exhibition at Pinelo Art Gallery in December 2024. The next stop for the exhibition will be AWITA Gallery in New York in June 2025.
Participating Artists
Armağan Ekrem Göyünç, A. Kadir Ekinci, Aslan Güreş, Can Taşan, Cazim Gürbüz, Ege Göyünç, Efsun Ergüven, Emine Yedikuvvet, Gültekin Çizgen, Hülya Değerbilir, Holi, Hülya Dartar Barış, Ida Kahraman, İsmet Arslan, Melda Taşan, Nazan Akpınar, Nihal Güreş, Nur Ulubil, Pınar Belendir, Sakine Düzce, Serap Ergün, Serap Zerman, Serhat Gökçaylar, Zafer Sarı.
Exhibition Venue
AWITA NEW YORK
274 S Second St.
East Williamsburg, Brooklyn
New York City, USA
Curatorial Team
Cem Aggelos Ustuner, Nihal Güreş, Sevtap Bengu Ucar
