Anti-Discrimination Workshop
and Interview Series
Open Workshop
The workshop, conducted as part of the “Anti-Discrimination Workshop Conversation Series,” was designed as a multi-voiced and participatory process where artists created works around themes such as discrimination, marginalization, inequality, and solidarity. The workshop was conducted in an open format, thus enriching the production process not only among the artists but also through the participation of visitors from the city. Throughout the production process, residents of Eskişehir who attended the workshop had the opportunity to directly interact with the artists, witness the creation process of the works, and engage in intellectual exchanges on the concept of discrimination. The artists who participated in the workshop included Akın Ayaz, Azra Yakar, Bera Bektaş, Burcu Nur Cengiz, Bülent Kayatepe, Cengiz Karagümüş, Dilara Yerlikaya, Ece Ebrar Sözkesen, Ege Engin, Ege Ön, Etem Aka Sözbilir, Hale Kocabaş, Hasan Hüseyin Özmen, Hatice Karakaş, İrem Esra Gökalp, Meryem Özbahar, Onur Erkaya, Oğuzhan Acar, Saltık Doğa Özsar, Semanur Özdemir, Taha Düzler, Özlem Kanat Örneksoy, Ülkü Usta, and Yaren Sümer. Coming from different cities, these artists collaboratively created artistic expressions that fostered sensitivity towards various forms of discrimination.
Interview Series
With the support of Anadolu Kültür, the “Anti-Discrimination Workshop and Conversation Series,” in which Paper People Project participated as one of the participating communities, was successfully held at Çekirdek Eskişehir between December 24-27. During the four-day event, thought-provoking conversations took place on anti-discrimination practices in the field of culture and art, forms of solidarity, alternative production models, and the transformative power of art. Speakers included Odeon Pergamon and Darağaç.
Representatives from various initiatives, including Günseli Baki, who works in the field of feminist art, Hande Çevik, who addresses the concept of discrimination through culture and art, and Osman Şişman, who questions the agenda of art from a particular perspective, were present.
The Power of Parallel Activity
The “Anti-Discrimination Workshop Conversation Series” was designed as two parallel events: a conversation and a workshop. The aim of this structure was to offer a more inclusive and multifaceted experience by simultaneously activating both intellectual and creative fields. The conversation series provided participants with an intellectual foundation on discrimination, solidarity, and the transformative power of art by sharing the knowledge and perspectives of experienced guest speakers; while the concurrently conducted open workshop made visible how this intellectual foundation was reflected in creative production.
Günseli Bakı, Yücel Tunca, Anti-Discrimination Dialogue, Çekirdek Eskişehir
Social Dialogue
Drawing inspiration from the interviews or blending them with their own experiences, the artists created works centered around the theme of discrimination. The open format of the workshop allowed for the artistic production process to connect with the city, involving local people and transforming art into a social dialogue. This two-way approach created reciprocal interaction between the viewer and the artist, aiming to ensure that anti-discrimination artistic expressions resonated not only within the art world but also in the social sphere.
Yaren Sümer, Artist, Çekirdek Eskişehir
Taha Düzler, Artist, Çekirdek Eskişehir
The first day began with participants from Odeon Pergamon and Darağaç İzmir sharing their experiences. In talks titled “A Neighborhood in İzmir: Darağaç and Solidarity” and “Collective Production Culture: The Bergama Experience,” the possibilities of collaborative production were discussed through examples of neighborhood-based collective art production.
Anti-Discrimination Dialogue, Çekirdek Eskişehir
On December 25th, Günseli Baki will present a new interpretation, making visible the discriminatory structures encountered in art production from a feminist perspective.
The series presented a space for discussion. On December 26th, Hande Çevik opened a space for thought through the connotations of the concept of discrimination, inviting participants to question the relationship between culture and art and social prejudices. On the final day of the series, Osman Şişman led philosophical and practical discussions on the concerns, language, and relationship of art with reality, centering on the question, "What does it mean to attribute a transformative power to art?"
This series of talks aimed to raise awareness of different forms of discrimination in the field of culture and arts, and to create a space for dialogue and shared thinking among the participants. By seeking to amplify anti-discrimination approaches through collective production and experience sharing, this series created a foundation for establishing lasting relationships between local and independent actors.
