Visual Narratives: European Borderlines
Artists: Andrejs Strokins (LV), Cemil Batur Gökçeer (TR), Ana Catarina Pinho (PT), Hallgerður Halgrimsdóttir (IS), Tiago Casanova (PT), Valdis Thor (IS), André Príncipe (PT), Ilze Vanaga (LV), Heiða Helgadóttir (IS), Sevim Sancaktar (TR), Reinis Hofmanis (LV),
Ahmet Can Boyan (TR)
Tutors: George Georgiou (GB), Vanessa Winship (GB)
Project Coordinators: Julija Berkoviča, Iveta Vaivode [ISSP], Serdar Darendeliler, Refik Akyüz [GAPO], Ângela Berlinde [Maiolaro],
Pétur Thomsen, Bjargey Ólafsðóttir [FISL]
Partner Organizations: ISSP (LV), GAPO (TR), MAIOCLARO (PT), FISL (IS)
Supporting Institutions: European Cultural Foundation, Arts and Culture program of the Open Society Program
Project Dates: April 2011-September 2012
'Visual Narratives: European Borderlines' is a one and a half years-long, discussion- and production-based project that brought together 12 emerging photographers from four countries on the “edges” of Europe—Latvia, Türkiye, Portugal, and Iceland—to explore the theme of borders through their own photographic practices. Bringing together independent and shared experiences from photographers who crossed both physical and cultural borders in search of visual stories about life in Europe’s border regions, the project aimed to support young talents in countries where educational opportunities in photography were relatively limited, encouraging them to develop their practices while fostering personal and critical dialogue among the participants.
Throughout the year, the 12 photographers were mentored by two experienced photographers, George Georgiou and Vanessa Winship. One organisation from each participating country supported and contributed to the project: ISSP from Latvia, GAPO from Türkiye, Maioclaro from Portugal, and FISL from Iceland. The production process began with a workshop in Latvia in August 2011 and concluded with a review workshop in Türkiye in July 2012. During the project, each photographer worked both in their home country and in another participating country, receiving ongoing feedback and guidance from their mentors through correspondence and Skype conversations.
Rather than imposing a fixed interpretation of “European Borderlines,” the project left the theme open to the participants’ individual approaches. The resulting works explored the notion of geographical borders in the photographs of Tiago, Catarina, and Andrejs; the diary-like approaches of André and Hallgerður; Reinis’s typographic interpretation; Sevim and Valdis’s explorations of identity; Batur and Ilze’s investigations of personal and psychological boundaries; Can’s indirect exploration of the idea of home; and Heiða’s depictions of happiness. Together, these diverse approaches demonstrate the breadth of ways in which the idea of borders can be understood and experienced.
The works produced during the project were brought together in an exhibition and published in a book that also included conversations between the participating photographers. The project was exhibited in Bursa, Diyarbakır, and Istanbul in Türkiye; Braga in Portugal; and Reykjavík in Iceland, and was also presented as a projection programme at a number of festivals.
