If you are in London this week, you can experience everything Istanbul without having to get on a plane and actually getting there. At least that is what INN London is promising to its visitors at their inaugurating cultural event in the heart of London. The team behind this, Steve Wellington and David Ridings have been working on the project for sometime. They founded INN London as an organization to bring some of the world’s most stunning and culturally rich foreign cities to life in London — now we can’t wait to find how the final product turned out at tonight’s opening.
On the INN London website, they promise this event to be “a stunning four day showcase of Istanbul’s contemporary culture, art, architecture, literature, food, fashion, film and design…. offering visitors the chance to immerse themselves in the city’s culture, discover emerging creative talent and sample authentic food and drink.” To achieve this, they have invited exhibitors from different creative backgrounds; food, design, fashion, architecture and art.
The exhibitors include the architect firms Emre Arolat and Superpool, London based furniture designer Merve Kahraman, London based shoe designer Dora Teymur, Zekiye Kocaarslan (with her jewellery shop Zeckié), jewellery designer Batya Kebudi, London based fashion designer Dilara Findikoglu, and fashion designer Asli Filinta who is being presented by Istanbul ’74. More London-based designers are in this mix than we think it should but perhaps it was difficult to arrange. There is also the challenge of persuading potential exhibitors and partners to believe in the quality and success of this event, since it is the first one of the organization and although the co-founders Steve and David have strong media backgrounds, neither of them have attempted to organize such an event at this scale.
INN London – Press Briefing this morning
In terms of art, Istanbul-based art consultant Isabella Icoz made a selection of Istanbul galleries that include Pi Artworks, Dirimart, Gallery X-ist, Gallery Merkur, CDA Projects, Elipsis Gallery, Sanatorium Gallery, and Art Sumer. There is also Leila Heller Gallery from New York, who seems to be popping up everywhere that has a Turkish or Middle Eastern link. There will also be works from Suat Akdemir and the London-based duo Barbara&Zafer Baran.
As for the “food” exhibitors, the INN website reveals only Silvena Rowe’s name, a celebrated British chef. We are surprised Turkish restaurants in London or Istanbul chose not to participate, as there are several successful brands out there. It would have been nice to have a pop-up restaurant or cafe of a successful Istanbul-based name. Although the press release does say that “an authentic Turkish dining experience will be offered in the meyhane – offering traditional meze (Turkish tapas), as well as Turkish Raki for the bold and inquisitive” We shall go and discover at the opening tonight!
