SAHA Art Initiatives Sustainability Fund

SAHA Art Initiatives Sustainability Fund

As part of Art Initiatives Sustainability Fund 2020-2021, SAHA supports 10 independent art initiatives from 5 different cities and an online platform.

Initiatives supported by SAHA for their programming until the end of 2021 are:

•       5533 (İstanbul)

•      Analytic Art Group (Mersin)

•       Are Projects (Antalya)

•      AVTO (İstanbul)

•      Darağaç (İzmir)

•      Kendine Ait Bir Oda (İzmir)

•      Loading (Diyarbakır)

•      NOKS (İstanbul)

•      Orta Format (Dijital)

•      Performistanbul (İstanbul) 

5533 (İstanbul): Co-founded in 2007 by Nancy Atakan and Volkan Aslan, 5533 aims to establish, within the Istanbul art context, a space to bring together people from different locations, disciplines, occupations, and backgrounds to create alternative models in the art context. They initiate contemporary art projects based on art-related research, critical reflection, dialogue, collaboration, interaction, discussion, and sharing. Having selected a modus operandi that gives freedom for experimentation without fear of failure, 5533 functions without an official status or long-term plans. In 2021 two artists, Can Küçük and Meltem Sarıçiçek will take over 5533 to research the topics of Protectıon and Violence in their numerous manifestations. These artists, rotating periodically, will invite other artists and professionals to collaborate with them to research these topics. http://imc5533.blogspot.com 

Analytic Art Group (Mersin - Çözümsel Sanat Topluluğu): The analytical art activities of Analytic Art Group are the activities that have been developed by Şeref Erol and Elif Kılıçdoğan, who are the permanent-certain participants of the group, since 2018 and directly refer to the form of the conceptual art activities of The Definition of Art Group. The establishment of Analytic Art Group has historically started with the termination of Text and Analytical Art Atelier. Text and Analytical Art Atelier was established by Şeref Erol as an elective atelier in Mersin University Faculty of Fine Arts in 2013-14 academic year in order to create the equivalent of the conceptual art activities of the The Definition of Art Group in the university environment. The atelier, which continued its university-level activities with the assistance of Elif Kılıçdoğan until 2018, was terminated in the same year due to factors other than the atelier (the traditional art understanding of the relevant university). Subsequently, these activities were moved to the city (Mersin) plane (civilized) and continued under the name of Analytic Art Group. The art approach that Analytic Art Group directly refers to with the analytical art activities is the art approach of the conceptual art activities of The Definition of Art Group. This original art approach is: “Performing an intellectual activity based on the fields of art, philosophy, science, logic and mathematic in terms of being art in a certain space, at a certain time, with participants, in a demonstrative manner, in "installations" containing various objects with elements of text, image and sound.

Are Projects (Antalya): are ​is a non-profit interdisciplinary space in Antalya tackling the function of art, promoting dialogue and encouraging collaboration since 2019. The are open library has become a multi-functional structure for the region in a short time with the production and exhibition area it provides to the artists, the talk series it has organized and its current activities. Until today, are organized more than 10 events with group exhibitions, artist talks and hosting non-profit organizations. Apart from the activities, which consist of an area of approximately 400 m2, it provides cooperation support to young artists in the region and an open studio for artists who come to visit Antalya. By interacting with local producers in Antalya, are enables dialogue between different fields and art practices. http://areprojects.co/ 

AVTO (İstanbul): AVTO promotes experimental methods and scientific understanding within research and artistic practice. AVTO draws upon subjective approaches to knowledge production and probes for critical tendencies on the current information culture. AVTO aims to form a polymorphous framework for an open and mutable institutional model that transforms through critique and interaction. AVTO’s activities encompass translation and publishing alongside public cultural programming which consists of incubation, presentation and documentation of research projects and artistic production. www.avtoonline.org 

Darağaç (İzmir): Darağaç is a non-profit art collective located in Izmir Umurbey Mahallesi and an open space where new communication strategies are experienced. Umurbey Neighborhood, formerly known as Darağaç, is located between Alsancak Stadium and Halkapınar used as an industrial zone in the past. Today, Darağaç neighborhood hosts artist / artisan workshops and residents. Darağaç is also the name of a group of exhibitions that have developed and matured with an atmosphere of intense dialogue and discussion between the artists, artisans and the residents of the neighborhood. The main goal of Darağaç is to transform the neighborhood into a space where young artists can show their work and to create a common discourse. Darağaç, due to the lack of venues in Izmir, acts as a reconciliation zone for the emerging artist and the public space. Darağaç has not imposed any subject and material limitations for the artists in the exhibitions it has organized and the events it has participated in. Darağaç encourages the artists to try new methods in the public sphere. Interdisciplinary works are exhibited or hosted in Darağaç, in areas such as painting, photography, sculpture, installation, video and performance. At the same time, Darağac is trying to transform into a kind of experimental city institute. www.daragac.com 

Kendine Ait Bir Oda (İzmir): Founded in early 2015, Kendine Ait Bir Oda (KABO) is a non-profit nomadic art space project named after Virginia Woolf's book A Room One's Own. Hosting contemporary art events such as speeches, screenings and exhibitions in different districts and venues of Izmir, KABO refers to Virginia Woolf's suggestion to "create a separate room and leisure time for creative work". Hosting contemporary art events such as speeches, demonstrations and exhibitions in different districts and venues of Izmir, KABO refers to Virginia Woolf's suggestion to "create a separate room and leisure time for creative work". Since 2018, KABO has been operating as one of the components of KARANTİNA with Dahili Bellek and 6X6X6 art initiatives.www.kendineaitbiroda.org/#1 

Loading: (Diyarbakır): Diyarbakır-based artists Cengiz Tekin and Erkan Özgen launched Loading in September 2017, taking the saying “It’s good to have a space…” as a departure point. Their founding goal was not to bring together the artists living and working in Diyarbakır under one roof, but rather to resolve the issues they have been encountering in production and project-related issues, to archive the contemporary art practices from the first quarter of the 2000s, and to strengthen the international artistic awareness and interaction in Diyarbakır through various activities. 

NOKS (İstanbul): NOKS Art Space was founded by Elvan Ekren and Volkan Kızıltunç in 2017, and it is a joint work, production and exhibition space located in Kadıköy, Istanbul. NOKS hosts exhibitions, workshops and experimental projects. It offers a platform where independent, intercultural partnerships and interdisciplinary interactions are prioritized. In addition to exhibitions, NOKS also organizes talks and workshops and realizes long-term projects. It aims to establish collaborations with professionals by focusing on methods of collective production and solidarity between artists. NOKS is flexible and transformable, it has a dynamic structure and thus provides variety in the process. It incorporates NOKSBooks, which carries out publishing activities and aims to produce, display and publicize artist books; and NOKSDocs, which aims to produce experimental documentary films by building a bridge between documentary cinema, video-art and experimental cinema. NOKS consists of different sections including the exhibition area, the entrance area and the sections on the ground floor. The exhibition area includes exhibitions that span different time periods and differ from each other in terms of application and method. Workshop area and residence section provide a workshop and a living space where guest artists can use during their production processes. www.noksartspace.com

Orta Format (Online): Orta Format is an e-magazine that focusing interviews, articles and projects about contemporary photography. It is independent. It's non-profit. It emerges as the product of a collective effort. The content of the Orta Format is shaped by the editors' research in the context of photography-art, on behalf of their own practices. The magazine is always open for research and participation. Unlike mainstream internet practices, it aims to be understandable in a simple interface. Orta Format is updated from time to time within the flow of the daily hassle.www.ortaformat.org 

Performistanbul (İstanbul): Performistanbul is an international performance art platform founded in 2016 with an initial aim to unite performance artists under one roof.Based in Istanbul, the platform continues to embrace its “spaceless” identity by carrying out a flexible work model which consists of collaborating and developing projects with various art institutions, digital platforms and artists in the world. Performistanbul has completed over 160 performances in various locations, collaborating mostly with museums, galleries, public spaces and international organizations including Pera Museum, Pi Artworks, Elgiz Museum, IMC 5533, Istanbul Biennial (2017, 2019), Caroline Garden’s Chapel (London), International Venice Performance Art Week (2017, 2019) and Live Art Development Agency (LADA).Performistanbul established Turkey's first Live Art Research Space (PCSAA), in the purpose of making a significant impact on the education and development of performance art by housing essential resources on live art. Together with PCSAA, Performistanbul Publications was founded to translate foreign sources into Turkish in order to publish them on digital platforms in Turkey and to provide further resources in the field.http://performistanbul.org/ 

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The funding was launched in 2014 by the SAHA Association to support the development of not-for-profit art initiatives in Turkey. The SAHA Art Initiatives Sustainability Fund was given to 5533, Pasaj and Torun in 2014-2015; Apartment Project, BAS, m-est, Torun and Videoist in 2015-2016; Corridor Project Space, MARS, Orta Format, Space Debris and TOZ Artist Run Space in 2016-2017; Loading, MARS, OJ, Orta Format and Tasarım Bakkalı in 2017-2018. SAHA expanded the framework of the funding in 2018-2019 to support the initiatives across 5 different cities in the total amount of 100,000TL: AVTO, Hayy Açık Alan, Loading, NOKS, Performistanbul, sub and Torun. As part of Art Initiatives Sustainability Fund 2019-2020, SAHA provided support for 8 initiatives in 5 different cities: A4 Open Art Space, AVTO, Eldem Art Space, Karantina, Loading, Orta Format, Performistanbul, sub.