Merve Elveren will curate the Guest Programme of the 39th EVA International – Ireland’s Biennial of Contemporary Art, 2020. In a statement of her appointment, Elveren writes: “In a global climate of political and economic dispossession, what does ‘land’ stand for? The word evokes as much guilt and helplessness as peace of mind, harbours self-realization and fulfilment, yet, at the same time, bridges deprivation and collectively. Veined by corresponding and conflicting intensities, the notion of land holds the potential to challenge the status quo by addressing both the present and the future.

For EVA 2020, I would like to imagine the exhibition as a temporary site for revisiting critical historical models and actions from the recent past and bringing together examples from today with a view to utilising and re-interpreting shared memories and material histories. To this end, I hope to collaborate with self-regulating archives of local collective social movements and organisations, and ultimately ignite a conversation on what we can learn from and with them today.”

Merve Elveren is a curator based in Istanbul, Turkey. Elveren was part of the founding team of Research & Programs at contemporary art institution SALT. Independent projects include the co-production of Köken Ergun’s film Ashura (2013) and Volkan Aslan’s solo exhibition Shoot Me! Don’t turn me over! (Pi Artworks, 2018). Most recently, Elveren initiated an independent group of women art professionals in order to organize temporary exhibitions and public events for the benefit of Women’s Library and Information Centre Foundation, founded in 1990. She is the recipient of Independent Curators International’s 2018 Gerrit Lansing Independent Vision Curatorial Award.

39th EVA International – Ireland’s Biennial of Contemporary Art 

The 39th EVA International programme is being developed in reference to the ‘Golden Vein’, a 19th century descriptor for the bountiful pastures of the Limerick / Tipperary region in the mid-West of Ireland (more commonly referred today as ‘Golden Vale’). Opening on 4 September 2020 and continuing until 15 November 2020, the 39th EVA International will present a programme of artist commissions, presentations, and educational projects across venues in Limerick city and beyond. The programme will include a Guest Programme curated by Merve Elveren, a number of Platform Commissions selected by Merve Elveren and Anne Tallentire, as well as a number of adjacent commissions and projects directly initiated by EVA and collaborating partners. See more details here.