ArtDog Publications’ first book, Beyond Borders and Prejudices, brings together a selection of essays and conference papers written by curator and critic Beral Madra between 1990 and 2020. The volume gathers Madra’s 45 years of intellectual and curatorial work, marking the debut of ArtDog’s publishing imprint. The book was published with the support of Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi.
Edited by Sinan Eren Erk, curator, art writer, and AICA Turkey member, the book is published in English and serves as a comprehensive reference for scholars and art professionals. It examines the political, economic, and social dynamics of contemporary art across three decades, exploring the relationship between art, borders, identity, and prejudice. Photographs taken by Madra during the same period accompany the texts, adding a visual layer to the book’s historical depth.
Focusing on regions stretching from Turkey to the Balkans, the Caucasus, Europe, and the Arabian Peninsula, Beyond Borders and Prejudices highlights how Turkey’s “in-between” position has shaped artistic production and discourse. The book emphasizes art as not only a form of expression but also a mode of thought deeply entangled with social structures.
As one of the key figures shaping the international visibility of contemporary art and art criticism in Turkey since the 1980s, Beral Madra has served as curator of the 1st and 2nd Istanbul Biennials, coordinated Turkey’s national pavilions at the Venice Biennale, and acted as art director or curator for numerous international exhibitions. She is also the honorary president of AICA Turkey.
Beyond Borders and Prejudices marks ArtDog Publications’ entry into the field of art publishing, adding both historical and intellectual depth to the landscape of contemporary art writing.
The book is available for purchase at artdogistanbul.com.
About Beral Madra
Critic and curator Beral Madra directed Gallery BM (1984–1990) and has managed the BM Contemporary Art Center since 1990. Between 2005 and 2016, she also served as art director for BM Suma and Kuad Gallery.
As the coordinator and curator of the 1st (1987) and 2nd (1989) Istanbul Biennials, she played a pioneering role in establishing international recognition for contemporary art in Turkey. Madra curated or co-curated exhibitions at the 43rd, 45th, 49th, 50th, and 51st Venice Biennales, including Modernities and Memories: Recent Works from the Islamic World at the 47th Biennale. She also curated the 2009 Central Asia and 2011 Azerbaijan Pavilions at Venice, and served as art director for Sinopale, the Çanakkale Biennial, Alanica (Ossetia, 2013), and the 8th Bucharest Biennale (2018).
Having organized over 500 exhibitions, Madra is the author of several publications, including The Identity of Contemporary Art, Post-Peripheral Flux, and Home Affairs. Her writings frequently examine Turkey’s geographic and cultural “in-between” condition and how this liminality shapes artistic production within intersections of aesthetics, ideology, economy, and politics.
About ArtDog Istanbul
ArtDog Istanbul is a digital and bi-monthly print culture and arts magazine centered on contemporary art, while also covering theatre, music, literature, cinema, design, fashion, and architecture. Featuring local and international news, interviews, special dossiers, reviews, and critiques, ArtDog bridges the gap between art, artists, and audiences by offering accessible, observation-based commentary.
Launched in autumn 2019 with its first print issue and daily-updated digital platform, ArtDog documents Turkey’s cultural scene with an independent journalism ethos. With Beyond Borders and Prejudices, ArtDog extends its editorial rigor from magazine publishing into the realm of book publishing, contributing further to the field of quality art writing.
