Mahalle@İzmir
Proje coordinators: Refik Akyüz & Serdar Darendeliler [GAPO], Ayşe Gür & Saliha Yavuz [HAYY]
Aritsts: Ali Cem Doğan, Aliye Erkurtulgu, Aslıhan Güçlü, Esin İlmen & U.Oluş Beklemez, Gözde Yenipazarlı, Koray Aykanat, Mert A. Çakır, Sinan Kılıç
Writers: Altuğ Akın & Burak Doğu, Cansu Pelin İşbilen, Neslihan Demirtaş Milz, Tonguç Akış
Editors: Refik Akyüz & Serdar Darendeliler
Project Dates: Eylül-Aralık 2020
‘Mahalle@İzmir’ is a project in which artists living in different neighborhoods of İzmir were invited to interpret the concept of mahalle (neighborhood) by photographing their neighborhoods and, therefore, to visualize different lived experiences of the neighborhood in a metropolis like İzmir as we are approaching the end of the first quarter of the 21st century. The project is enriched by written contributions of academics, researchers and cultural professionals with a wide range of disciplinary backgrounds who approached the concept of mahalle from different perspectives. ‘Mahalle@İzmir’ is a collaborative project by HAYY Open Space and Geniş Açı Project Office [GAPO] realized with support from Spaces of Culture and took place from September to December 2020.
‘Mahalle@İzmir’ aims to document the lived experiences of the neighborhood through different lenses -private/public life, belonging, shared experiences, socialization, transformation of the nature by humans, construction, urbanization, cultural heritage, and collective memory- against the backdrop of the transforming social and physical cosmopolitan texture of Izmir in the last century. ‘Mahalle’ project was launched by GAPO under the Istanbul European Capital of Culture Portable Arts program in 2009 with the participation of 6 artists and relaunched with the ‘Geniş Açı: From the Magazine to the Project Office’ exhibition at Depo in 2018 with the participation of 13 artists. ‘Mahalle@İzmir’ brings the initial concept of the project to Izmir and invites 9 artists living in 8 culturally and geographically distinct neighborhoods to closely examine their relationship to these neighborhoods while using photography as a medium. Their works are shaped around these connections, or the lack thereof.
Due to the pandemic measures, all events under the scope of this project took place online, including editing/mentoring sessions with the artists and other public sessions. The first of these public events was the ‘Artist Talks’ where eight of the participants from ‘Mahalle’ projects in 2009 and 2018 shared their experiences. It was followed by the ‘Public Seminars’ led by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Neslihan Demirtaş Milz, who explores subjects at the intersection of political science, sociology and geography, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tonguç Akış, who focuses on urban spaces, architecture training, and basic design.
Another event series transformed the project’s Instagram account into an exhibition space, creating a more direct and sustained interaction with audiences through a series of “Instagram takeovers.” For two or three days, project artists took over the account to share photographs beyond those included in the exhibition, spontaneous glimpses of life in their neighborhoods, and a range of inspirations spanning photography, literature, cinema, and music. While the works and texts produced as part of the project are presented in an online exhibition at mahalleizmir.com, the Instagram account continues to evolve as a space for sharing, featuring photographs and other contributions by neighborhood residents who continue their practices under the mentorship of the artists, alongside contributions from other invited participants.
