The city is in transition. In Amsterdam, tourists are crossing the IJ river, property prices are rising and neighbourhoods are changing rapidly. Istanbul is much the same; there too the built environment is clogging up.

Shepherded by sidewalks, road signs and stop lights, we move through the cityscape and see what developers and politicians have planned for us. But what happens if we view the city as a political space and deviate from the course marked out for us?

In this program we ask female writers to put themselves in the shoes of the flâneur, the sauntering observer whom is traditionally envisioned as a male. What happens when a women takes his place and ventures beyond the path laid out for her? We look for alternative routes, open spaces and new opportunities in the cityscape, and translate these to art and literature.

Let this literary program transport you to Istanbul and Amsterdam by flâneuses from the Netherlands and Turkey.

With Jacqueline Schoemaker and Sevinç Çalhanoğlu

Moderator: Aslı Özgen-Tuncer

This program will be conducted in English.