The main body of the exhibition with artists’ works in three different venues (Austro-Turkish Tobacco Building, Ahmet Adnan Saygun Art Center, Izmir French Culture Institute) will be supported with projects “Soirée/Performance/Cross Over” and “from 6 to 6”, considered as parallel projects.  It is very important to underline the organic relation between these parallel programs and the concept of the exhibition aiming to address Izmir’s characteristic structure.  PORT IZMIR 2 does not only emphasize the stimulating joy of visual arts; it emphasizes utilizing also theatrical art, especially improvisation-based stage art with its “instantaneous” nature “full of excitement”.

“Soirée/Performance/Cross Over” is an activity derived from the idea of having small stage presentations on three different themes by very old and new creative residents of Izmir. It is planned to take place in the Theater Hall of Izmir French Culture Institute for three different evenings during the exhibition period. The history of this stage as one of the oldest theater halls in Turkey, addresses both the modernization of Turkey and Izmir’s leading role on this subject. During the three evenings, focus will be on art, in a broad context; how it is produced, interpreted and documented. The presentations staged by very old and new creative intellectuals of Izmir will, in a direct or indirect manner, concentrate on “cultural memory” and its transformation.

“from 6 to 6’”  project, on the other hand, aims at addressing Izmir’s cosmopolitan, polyglot characteristics as a harbour city, in the streets of which many languages are spoken. At the Artists’ Guesthouse, K2R in Alsancak, on 5 November 2010, starting at 18:00 hours to last till 06:00 in the morning, throughout, in four different rooms, the works of important authors in English, French, German and Italian languages will be recited outloud, at the same time with their Turkish translations. Planned as a kind of “literature hall”, the individuals reading for the activity, will be readers speaking the mother-tongue of the work which they are reading.

Being bilingual with its increasing significance is one of the most important dynamics of the coming century. During the course of the night, with the presence of other creative activities like cinema, theater and music, this activity aims at a formation of a kind of  “Tower of Babel” effect.