Jeune Decouverte Photo
Artists: Filiz Doğan, Yeliz Doğan, Onur Güçlüer, Elif Halisçelik, Gamze Kurt
Partner Organizations: ACORT (FR), GAPO (TR)
Project Coordinators: Refik Akyüz, Serdar Darendeliler [GAPO], Zeynep Saygı [ACORT]
Project Dates: May 2009-February 2010
Exhibition Dates: 5-17 February 2010, Town Hall of the 11th Arrondissement of Paris, France
27 March 2010, La Petite Istanbul en Fête, Paris, France
'Jeune Découverte Photo (Young Photographic Discovery)' was an educational and production programme organised by Geniş Açı Project Office (GAPO) in collaboration with the Assembly of Turkish Citizens (ACORT), as part of the 'Season of Turkey in France.'
The programme brought five young people of Turkish origin, aged between 21 and 26, who had either been born in France or moved there at a very young age, to Istanbul for a ten-day photographic exploration. Following an introductory photography course and a series of discussions on contemporary photographic practices, the participants set out to explore the city beyond the familiar, often idealised image of Istanbul they had inherited from their families or encountered through other sources.
Over ten days, they visited very different parts of the city, including Maslak, Tarlabaşı, Nişantaşı, Kanarya, Arnavutköy, Balat, and the Princes’ Islands. Moving beyond the tourist image of Istanbul, they encountered the city’s layered history, its contemporary face, its organically developed urban fabric shaped by migration and rapid growth since the 1950s, and the transformations of recent years variously described as urban renewal or gentrification. Along the way, they also met with experts to discuss issues including migration and refugees, freedom of expression, and Istanbul’s Byzantine and Ottoman past.
The project encouraged the participants to develop their own understanding of Türkiye and Istanbul, independent of the images and narratives they had encountered through their families and other sources. The resulting works were presented in the exhibition 'Through the Eyes of Young Migrants Living in France: Istanbul', which had its first presentation in Paris. A catalogue featuring the participants’ work was published alongside the exhibition.
