HUBBAN: TOWARD | H O M E | AWAY
Artists' Playground brought together artists from Germany and Türkiye for an interdisciplinary collaboration exploring the themes of home, belonging and urban life. Through a collaborative workshop, urban research and public space interventions in Ayvansaray, the project combined artistic production with community participation, creating opportunities for intercultural exchange while transforming everyday public spaces into sites of creative dialogue.
COLLAB OF
HUBBAN
Collaborative Workshop for Artists
In Ayvansaray, a marginalized neighborhood in Istanbul, a week-long collaborative workshop took place as part of the VAHA Program, bringing together artists from Germany and artists residing in Turkey. Supported by Urban.Koop and Bridgeworks, the workshop focused on themes such as home, foreignness, alienation, and the complex relationship with the local urban environment. Each day, the artists engaged with these themes in an open and experimental way, sharing diverse perspectives and experiences while providing insights into their artistic practices. The goal was to foster a dialogue that allowed each participant to reflect on how these themes resonate in a shared space like Ayvansaray.
In parallel, Ankara Aks led a series of urban planning workshops with students from the art and architecture departments of Topkapi University. Through these workshops, the students engaged intensively with the urban space. Both processes were repeatedly connected throughout the week, merging into a cohesive experience. This fusion created a diverse group, including musicians, visual artists, actors, performers, videographers, architects, and urban planners, enabling a dynamic, interdisciplinary exchange. The mix of artistic and architectural perspectives encouraged rich dialogue, sparking new ideas, techniques, and potentially lasting connections among the participants.
This initial phase laid a solid foundation for the subsequent public art performances, fostering a shared understanding of how art can express complex, collective urban experiences and transform personal perceptions of home and foreignness into meaningful public interventions.
In Ayvansaray, a marginalized neighborhood in Istanbul, a week-long collaborative workshop took place as part of the VAHA Program, bringing together artists from Germany and artists residing in Turkey. Supported by Urban.Koop and Bridgeworks, the workshop focused on themes such as home, foreignness, alienation, and the complex relationship with the local urban environment. Each day, the artists engaged with these themes in an open and experimental way, sharing diverse perspectives and experiences while providing insights into their artistic practices. The goal was to foster a dialogue that allowed each participant to reflect on how these themes resonate in a shared space like Ayvansaray.
In parallel, Ankara Aks led a series of urban planning workshops with students from the art and architecture departments of Topkapi University. Through these workshops, the students engaged intensively with the urban space. Both processes were repeatedly connected throughout the week, merging into a cohesive experience. This fusion created a diverse group, including musicians, visual artists, actors, performers, videographers, architects, and urban planners, enabling a dynamic, interdisciplinary exchange. The mix of artistic and architectural perspectives encouraged rich dialogue, sparking new ideas, techniques, and potentially lasting connections among the participants.
This initial phase laid a solid foundation for the subsequent public art performances, fostering a shared understanding of how art can express complex, collective urban experiences and transform personal perceptions of home and foreignness into meaningful public interventions.
Public Space Interaction and Intervention
The culmination of the Artists' Playground project was marked by a series of interactive interventions in the public spaces of Ayvansaray, designed to invite and encourage direct participation from the local community. This final stage was not only a showcase of the workshop outcomes but a lively celebration of the neighborhood’s character and vibrancy. Through a multidisciplinary parade and various art installations, the artists transformed the streets and alleys of Ayvansaray into a vibrant public art space, weaving creative expressions directly into the urban fabric. This transformation was brought to life by the active involvement of local musicians, children, and residents who joined the artists in a unique blend of art, community, and local culture.
The culmination of the Artists' Playground project was marked by a series of interactive interventions in the public spaces of Ayvansaray, designed to invite and encourage direct participation from the local community. This final stage was not only a showcase of the workshop outcomes but a lively celebration of the neighborhood’s character and vibrancy. Through a multidisciplinary parade and various art installations, the artists transformed the streets and alleys of Ayvansaray into a vibrant public art space, weaving creative expressions directly into the urban fabric. This transformation was brought to life by the active involvement of local musicians, children, and residents who joined the artists in a unique blend of art, community, and local culture.
The participatory elements of these activities allowed the audience to become part of the creative process, breaking down the conventional barriers between artist and spectator. Residents, passersby, and children could engage with the art in ways that felt natural and spontaneous, exploring the installations, participating in the performances, and even creating their own expressions within the framework provided by the artists. This approach aimed to create new spaces for interaction and intercultural dialogue, fostering meaningful exchanges that extended beyond the formal art world.
By working within the art the project succeeded in establishing meeting places within the neighborhood. The experience offered a platform for artistic expression. Through these collective, creative moments, the project underscored the potential of public art to inspire connections, build trust, and strengthen the social fabric of Ayvansaray.
By working within the art the project succeeded in establishing meeting places within the neighborhood. The experience offered a platform for artistic expression. Through these collective, creative moments, the project underscored the potential of public art to inspire connections, build trust, and strengthen the social fabric of Ayvansaray.
