Değiş Tokuş
Project Coordinators: Refik Akyüz & Serdar Darendeliler [GAPO], Lütfü İrdem, Sinan Kılıç [No 238]
Participants: Nilay Uluğ & Şevda Tuğrul, Ayşegül Kaycı & İmran Atasal, Fatma Çelik & Merve Güçlütürk, Aynur Tıkıroğlu & Hicret Ayaz İpek, Aylin Kızıl & Eyhan Çelik, Aslıhan Güçlü & Mehmet Ali Kılıç
Editors: Refik Akyüz & Serdar Darendeliler
Lecturers and Writers: Meltem Şendağ, Aslı Iğsız, Eda Yiğit, Elif Demirkaya, İpek Çınar
Project Duration: May-November 2021
‘Değiş Tokuş’ (interchange/exchange in English) stemmed from the idea of artists producing works in solidarity with one another in different cities they could not travel to due to the pandemic that started in early 2020. Twenty participants, who were selected for the first round of ‘Değiş Tokuş’ by the open call launched in cities where Spaces of Culture operates and their environs, submitted project proposals in pairs following the introductory meeting and brainstorming sessions. 6 duos, i.e 12 artists from İzmir, Diyarbakır, Mardin and Şanlıurfa, made it to the second round and carried out their projects.
As all activities took place online, 'Değiş Tokuş' included one-on-one editorial and mentoring sessions with the participating artists, alongside the public programme 'Değiş Tokuş Talks' and the participant-only 'Değiş Tokuş Seminars'. The project’s Instagram account also functioned as a digital exhibition space through a series of Instagram takeovers. For two days at a time, each team took over the account, sharing photographs beyond those featured on the project website while also introducing audiences to the books, films, music, and other references that inspired their work.
The works produced by the 12 participating artists, together with essays by academics and researchers reflecting on the concept of exchange, are presented on a dedicated project website. In addition, one photograph from each project was brought together in a postcard set, creating a tangible reference to the project's central idea of exchange itself.
