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KONSERVE:
INTERCITY GUEST ARTIST AND EXCHANGE PROGRAMME NETWORK

In 2024, the second  edition of the program executed in collaboration with the official partnership of  Municipality of Selçuk (İzmir) and Municipality of Nilüfer (Bursa) is financed by Ortaklaşa: Culture, Dialogue and Support Programme; a project supported by the European Union.

For further information, please kindly visit the web site and social media accounts of the program:

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KONSERVE, whose conceptual framework was established with international participation in 2021, operates as a residency program network that carries intangible rural cultural heritage to new areas of application through artistic practices. In pursuit of the first edition held in 2022 which hosted 12 artists in 5 villages of İzmir, Çanakkale and Bursa for three weeks; second edition included an extra module beside the residencies, aiming at making of participatory, inclusive and sustainable cultural policies with solid contribution of local civic societies and cultural actors in both districts.

8 artists, who were selected from 32 candidates suggested by Zeyno Pekünlü, Çelenk Bafra, Borga Kantürk, as well as associates namely as Sarı Denizaltı art initiative, Kendine Ait Bir Oda initiative, The Letter Art Gallery, İzmir Mediterranean Academy, KARE collective, No 238 art space and AnArt Culture and Art Association from İzmir, were hosted in Zeytinköy (Selçuk) and Misi (Nilüfer) villages for three weeks between May and July 2024. During their residencies, the selected artists, together with 5 artists from Istanbul and Bursa integrated into the program with the resources of Nilüfer Municipality; produced 11 draft works in various disciplines inspired by the intangible cultural heritage and ecological assets ​​of the regions they worked. As a result, artists produced 21 art works and organized 3 workshops for children, 2 workshops for women and 2 public artist talks in both villages. All the outputs are shown in exhibitions held in Nazım Hikmet Culture House (Bursa) and Konak Metro Art Gallery (İzmir) between September – November 2024.

In the planning of the activities carried out in the cultural policy formation phase; the data obtained from the search conferences, the needs assessment and target setting meetings and the discovery and study visits to understand the cultural infrastructure, set the road map for implementation of two self-assessment workshops that are organized to evaluate the given status of the cultural ecosystems in both districts. Accordingly as the second step, two cultural forums were organized in Selçuk and one in Nilüfer in order to determine the amendatory actions for improvement of subject fields that are in need of development. In these activities, with participation of four international experts, right based NGOs, independent culture and arts initiatives, architects, urban planners, researchers, academics and eco-activists; it was decided:

  • To create interfaces that will facilitate access to cultural policy documents and systematize expectation management in response to project producers’ / event designers demands,
  • To develop an event design approach that will allow artistic practices to be addressed together with ecological assets ​​in principle,
  • To create opportunities for artistic interventions in public spaces,
  • To establish grassroots platforms that will strengthen the interaction between art professionals and local governments;
  • To take steps to strengthen the cultural exchange of the two districts with neighboring provinces,
  • To follow an approach that will prioritize cooperation with international networks, To plan cultural facilities with more participatory practices.

For further information, please kindly check out  @konserveproject and visit the web site:

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