An Interview With PERA64: Istanbul's Newest Cultural Space

Located in the beautiful Pera neighborhood in a stunning building designed by French architect Alexandre Vallaury in the Ottoman period, PERA64 is the latest addition to Istanbul’s cultural life. Serving as a multi-purpose space, including temporary exhibitions and collaborations, we talked to the creators of PERA64 about the birth and execution of their unique project.
How did the PERA64 project come about and who are its founders?

PERA64 was initially created to produce an ‘independent, international, bi-annual’ publication by Ece Sükan and Demet Müftüoğlu. While the publication’s manifesto was being drawn up, the ideas revolving around a ‘new world,’ containing concepts and values of ‘No gender, No border, No boundaries,’ also came into life as foundational principles. The project later developed further by taking on physical form as a creative space with a purpose already intact. We advanced with an idea of a venue incapable of abiding to a single preconceived form and function, and with a deep partiality toward DIY and fanzine culture, i.e. independent publications. Independent of limitations and labels, our goal was to harbor collaborations where various disciplines and cultures intersperse.

What are the venue’s main goals and what sets it apart from other concept store/cultural spaces in Istanbul?

PERA64’s constantly changing nature is what sets it apart from other concept stores, as well as being a project space that hosts the collaboration between different creative disciplines. The venue, which defies the single-purpose function of most other local projects, creates unique projects through pop-up brand collaborations in the fields of design, publishing, photography, fashion, art, music, gastronomy, and much more. What we’re really doing is providing an alternative space where the brands, designers and artists we work with can think outside the box to create freely and with a new sense of excitement.

What can we find at PERA64 right now?

At the moment you can find a magazine collection with publications unavailable anywhere else in Turkey, including Purple, Document, EXIT, Cabana, The Gentlewoman, Fantastic Man, Toiletpaper, Double, Aperture, Apartamento, and 25 Magazine. Hard to find editions, vintage magazines and books, indie publications and book collections are also available. ‘The Newsstand’ installation (previously exhibited at MoMA) has also been adapted to PERA64 as the ‘ Gazete Bayii,’ curated by Lele Saveri, the founder of the 8-Ball Zine community. Other highlights include: posters for Dazed Media’s founder Jefferson Hack’s new book, We Can’t Do This Alone: Jefferson Hack the System; posters from Swedish artist Andrè Saraiva’s ‘Dream Concerts’ exhibition; the pop-up store of Eachxother, a fusion brand that brings together artists, stylists and designers; and Scandinavian design furniture and objects from the ’70s.

What are your plans for the future?

PERA64 will continue to live out its pop-up culture with new surprise projects in the coming season. We’ll also be hosting more brand and designer collaborations, various workshops and exhibitions.

Make sure to follow PERA64 on Facebook and Instagram to get all the latest updates and info on their upcoming events.

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