Pera Museum continues its activities within the scope of the Future Memories exhibition, curated by Ulya Soley. As part of the exhibition, there will be a guided tour led by curator Ulya Soley and two talks on the history and present of Kütahya ceramics and pottery, which inspired the exhibition.

The events organized by the Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation Pera Museum, curated by Ulya Soley as part of the Future Memories exhibition, continue. The Future Memories Exhibition Tour, led by Soley, will take place on Thursday, February 15th at 6:00 PM, while the talk titled “History and Present of Ceramic Craftsmanship in Kütahya” will be held on Saturday, February 17th, between 3:00 PM and 5:00 PM.

The collection initiated by Suna Kıraç inspired new artworks. The Future Memories exhibition, based on the Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation Kütahya Ceramics and Pottery Collection, explores the connections between memory and future imaginaries through contemporary works. Approaching the archive with a future-oriented perspective, the exhibition suggests thinking about how we will remember the future rather than nostalgically clinging to the past. In the Future Memories, organized in memory of Suna Kıraç, a selection from the collection that inspired contemporary works will also be distributed throughout the exhibition in connection with each section. Art enthusiasts attending the exhibition tour on February 15th will have the opportunity to listen to detailed information about the background of the exhibition and the artworks from curator Ulya Soley.

The art of ceramics; the past and future of Kütahya. In the context of the exhibition, in the first of the talks to be held on February 17th at the Pera Museum Auditorium, artist Bilal Yılmaz, whose work “Elhamra” is featured in the exhibition, will present an Artistic Research Report on Kütahya Ceramics, conducted in collaboration with curator Lydia Chatziiakovou. Yılmaz and Chatziiakovou conducted field research for the study, presenting the current ecosystem of Kütahya ceramics by examining the impact of the craft on social, financial, and urban environments through the stories of producers, merchants, and institutions in the region. Documented as a comprehensive report that brings together history and personal experiences, the research, through Yılmaz’s work “Elhamra,” offers an opportunity to reflect on the past, present, and future potential of Kütahya ceramics.

Traces of history in Kütahya ceramics. In the second talk of the day, collector and researcher Dinos Kogias will share his observations on the history of Kütahya pottery through the works in the Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation Kütahya Ceramics and Pottery Collection, other private collections, rare photographs, and archive materials. Slogans from the French Revolution, the Genevieve legend of the Middle Ages, a Spanish king, and an ancient Greek goddess emerge from the pottery kilns of Kütahya at the beginning of the 20th century under the leadership of Armenian, Turkish, and Greek Orthodox masters. The talk will also explore how the social and political background affected ceramic production during the Late Ottoman period.

The guided exhibition tour, conducted in Turkish, is free for Pera Museum Friends. Those who wish to join the tour can purchase tickets from Biletix or make a reservation at reception@peramuzesi.org.tr. Limited capacity.

The talks are free, no reservation required. Simultaneous translation will be provided.