Garanti BBVA sponsors new exhibition on air pollution
The new Salt exhibition, ‘Hava Dair’ (About the Air) aims to give life to the social and environmental aspects of air pollution through a series of different experiments. The exhibition, which is sponsored by Garanti BBVA, was designed by the Milan-based design studio 2050+ for Salt's Beyoğlu location. It can be visited free of charge until August 18th.
‘About the Air’ is an invitation to expand our understanding of the air we breathe. It reveals the toxicity that permeates the air, as well as the complex local and global social consequences. By treating the air as a common space, the exhibition recalls that clean, breathable air is a universal right.
Garanti BBVA Corporate Brand Management and Marketing Communications Director Elif Güvenen stressed that the bank has been a pioneer when it comes to exhibitions on current issues, especially those related to the climate crisis. Its programs take culture and the arts to the next level while addressing different dimensions of sustainability, she added.
“I believe that the ‘About the Air’ exhibition is much more than an art exhibition. It takes us on a different journey, provoking us to think about the social and environmental dimensions of air pollution. It reminds us of the need to take care of our world where everything is interconnected," she said.
Deniz Ova, the Director General of Salt, explained that Salt focuses on the interactions among different disciplines, seeking to shed light on critical issues and interpret them through unique approaches. Some of the fields it researches include art, architecture, design practices, and urban, social and economic history in Turkey and the surrounding region, in addition to projects on urgent issues like the environmental crisis and climate change.
“We invited the 2050+ design studio to collaborate with us on a new project, as they are very close to Salt's interdisciplinary practice and develop innovative exhibition experiences related to culture, technology and the environment. Air pollution emerged as a critical issue during the urban research process, and we decided to address it,” she explained, adding: “‘About the Air’ is an invitation to expand our understanding of the air we breathe. We will continue to explore the issues raised by the exhibition through parallel programs involving talks and screenings."