(photos used with kind permission from Menekşe Çam)

Menekşe, it’s so exciting that there will be a toonpool.com exhibition in Izmir. Can you tell me how this came into being?

In fact, my husband first brought up the idea of a joint exhibition when we visited Berlin in late January. I mentioned the idea in the interview I gave back then and got very positive responses. I really want to thank Bernd Pohlenz for trusting me with the organization of the first toonpool.com exhibition in the “real world”.

Of course I also have to thank all the artists who agreed to join the exhibition and sent in their cartoons. Finally, there is the people at the BKM (Buca Municipality Cultural Center) who agreed to host the exhibition and gave us all the things we needed. Organizing this took a lot of time – more than three months. And it took a lot of hard work.

So, what is the general idea of the exhibition?

First of all, it’s a wonderful cultural event that puts the works from a great cartoon community on display for the first time. Second, the exhibition shows that this community can act together when necessary.

There is no profit in this event apart from spiritual pleasure and artistic prestige. Still, I hope that we can repeat this exhibition in other countries – after all, our slogan is “Toonpool.com – A Smile Goes ‘Round the World”

Buca Municipality Cultural Center

How many artists will be on display in Izmir?

It was really hard to choose between more than 80,000 artworks by almost 2,000 artists from 160 nations. In the end we had to settle for 58 cartoons by 58 artists from almost as many different countries. Among the artists on display are Matteo Bertelli from Italy, Pawel Kuczynski from Poland, An Yong Chen from China,  Ernst Mattiello from Switzerland, and Xavier Salvador from Spain..

What kind of cartoons did you choose for the exhibition?

Mostly they were chosen from among the most popular cartoons on toonpool.com – the ones with the greatest number of votes and comments. Some of them are political, some funny, and some thought-provoking. There will be a catalogue, too.

An Earlier Exhibition at BKM

Will some of the artists be present at the opening ceremony?

Yes, Buca Municipality will host ten artists in a hotel on the seaside – for two nights and three days. This includes accommodation, breakfast, and dinner. There are still some free spots.. artists who sent in their work and would like to spend a spend a weekend vacation in Izmir should just contact me.

Thanks for your time, I am really looking forward to seeing the photos taken at the grand opening!

EDIT: photos added HERE

Paul Hellmich

October 15-29, 2010

BKM (Buca Kültür Merkezi / Buca Municipality Cultural Center)
Uğur Mumcu Caddesi 29, Izmir

No Entry Fee

Catalogue available at BKM,
participating artists will receive a free copy

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Friday, October 15 – 18:00 Grand Opening (the mayor of Buca will open the exhibition)

Saturday, October 16 – tours organized for visiting artists (Ephesus, House of Virgin Mary, Ephesus Museum, Church of Saint Jean, Sirince village)

Sunday, October 17 – tour of Buca (İzmir)