As the launch of the 2019 edition of Mamut Art Project approaches, ASIA speaks to the director of the innovative emerging artists fair in Turkey about the event, how it works and the significance of its role in the contemporary art world.
Read our preview of Mamut Art Project 2019.
What is Mamut Art Project and how is it different from other commercial art fairs?
Mamut Art Project was conceived as an alternative to the traditional art fair model, providing a rent-free platform for emerging artists to display their art works whilst supporting the concept of affordable art. It is an annual event dedicated to emerging, independent talents to showcase their works and to get a kick-start in their careers. Mamut is also proud to offer professional development consultancy to each participating artist once the exhibition has closed. These are the key elements that make Mamut a unique art event.
Additionally, Mamut is not restricted to Turkey and the applications are open to artists worldwide. There are no nationality, age or education restrictions. All independent artists, who are not and have never been represented by a gallery can apply to the project.
Regarding our sales, with a professional sales team, we apply a lower commission rate compared to other similar events and thus a higher proportion of the sales price goes to the artists. We aim to support them economically and provide them revenue.
Mamut also works for the PR and marketing of the participating artists which provides them an exceptional opportunity to promote themselves. In each edition we work with a jury committee including leading names from different fields of arts industry. We accept applications from all disciplines of arts including performance art. For the last 4 years we have been running an exclusive section dedicated to performance art only. I believe that in total, all of these facts make us different not only from ventures in Turkey but also from others internationally.
What has been the reception by the public and the success of Mamut Art Project so far since its inception?
Since its first edition seven years ago, we have been receiving positive feedback both from participating artists and from the visitors and this has been our main motivation. In terms of supporting emerging talents by a large-scale event, Mamut is the first and the longest continuing art event in Turkey. Our first two years were more like a warm-up period, as of 2015 we collaborated with Akkök Holding as the main sponsor of the event and that has been a turning point in our growth. Since then we have been working together and this consistent support has enabled us to get bigger and richer both in terms of our exhibition programme and also increasing our visibility. As a result of the support we get, we have been working with PR and marketing professionals, run an active communication strategy, secure partnerships and create awareness.
I guess the figures explain it even better, over the past two years we attracted more than 35,000 visitors and the 2019 edition of Mamut secured the highest number of applications. For the 7th edition, 1350 applications were received from undiscovered talents across Turkey and abroad.
How are participants selected?
For each edition we work with a different jury committee including top names from different fields of arts – collectors, curators, academics, consultants, gallery owners, artists and such. As highlighted above, Mamut is not restricted to Turkey, our applications are open to artists worldwide. There is no nationality, age or education restrictions, applications are open to any artists who are working independently across different art disciplines and who haven’t yet had the chance to be visible. This year’s jury included practicing contemporary artist Memed Erdener a.k.a. Extrastruggle, collector Ari Meşulam, curator and writer Aslı Seven, art historian Professor Dr BurcuPelvanoğlu and founder of Pi Artworks Gallery Yeşim Turanlı. This year, 50 emerging talents were selected by the jury from 1350 applicants to present more than 600 artworks.
What are the key elements that make Mamut the go-to event to see emerging artists and their work?
Mamut is perceived as a prestigious, trustworthy organisation. It has a credibility due to its sustainable and professional structure. This is an appealing factor for both new and experienced art professionals and collectors to prefer Mamut for discovering and meeting with emerging talents.
Over seven years, the project has created artistic awareness and a platform for network in the contemporary art scene in Turkey. Moreover, the friendly/informal-yet professional-structure and attitude of Mamut has attracted the young generation and a wide range of visitors, and has turned the project into one of the most anticipated art events of the country.
Could you share with us some examples of success of Mamut’s network?
We can say that when looking at the galleries and mixed shows right now, there are many artists who participated in Mamut at the beginning of their career. An artist once selected can’t be selected again and thus including our seventh year we’ve worked with more than 350 artists. It would be a long list if I were to write down all the names that became successful through our network.
We had artists who were approached by a gallery and offered a proposal to sign right away during their exhibition at Mamut. Many of our participating artists made deals with galleries following their exhibition at Mamut. Some of them were picked by the curators to participate in their different shows, we also had artists who sold their works to important collectors and we even had a couple of artists who participated in the Istanbul Biennial.
What are your hopes for the future of Mamut?
One of our biggest hopes is to carry our project abroad. We believe that it would be a great next step for us and we’ve already started our research to do this in the best possible way. We also hope to build a platform, which may even be online, where all of Mamut artists will be all together as a big family. Through this, we believe that we’ll carry each other further in every way, continuing our support and dialogue with each of our artists that we care so much for.
C. A. Xuan Mai Ardia
Mamut Art Project 2019 runs from 3 to 7 April 2019, KüçükÇiftlik Park, Istanbul.