VAHA Phase 2: International and Regional Collaborations

During these collaborations the hubs will scale up their work into a larger ecosystem of independent places for free discussion and open dialogue through an open structure of international collaboration. The six collaboration ideas that were approved by an external jury committee will be implemented until September 2022.

We would like to introduce:

Cabinets of Local Wonders – inter:cultural heritage in Altenburg and Antalya

by Altenburg and Antalya hubs

Antalya VOYN and Altenburg hubs will work on two poetic themes: “the sea” and “the home”. By reflecting different perspectives on the same subjects, the two hubs aim to be able to see various narratives on significant urban and rural matters in both cities. The collaboration will implement activities in a similar format based on different local content. Objects and stories will be collected during the whole year in order to form a cabinet of local curiosities depicting tangible/intangible heritage from these completely different regions. Then there will be several side events in parallel such as workshops, field visits on routes, feasts, community performances, gatherings etc. Additionally, both hubs will also shed light on different urban matters via talks, podcasts, open air cinema nights and alike.

 

B.R.A.W.E. – Be a Revolutionary Artist for Women Equity / Emancipation / Equality / Empowerment

by Budapest and Eskişehir hubs

Who are B.R.A.W.E. people? B.R.A.W.E. artists are young women who use their voices to recreate historical meaning of gender and have the willingness to explore the everchanging, multifaceted, gender-fluid nature of contemporary feminist issues.

Hungary and Turkey are countries both suffering from the ruling authoritarian patriarchal regimes built on the misuse of the concept of conservative values. This hegemonic masculinity which motives decision makers and their policies increases violence against women instead of preventing it, threatens the existence of women in both public and private spheres, and thus hinders their way for self-realization. B.R.A.W.E aims to provide young artists with resilient tools and arguments to transparently assess the inconsistent situations they are in and to express the inequality and injustices they are exposed to individually or socially.

B.R.A.W.E.’s programme includes regional and international labs/workshops on relevant issues within cross-disciplinary practices led by researchers and artists; exhibitions, guerilla acts and performative events as well as accompanying local events such as screenings, discussions and parties.

 

Composting for Peace

by Belgrade, Mersin and Nicosia hubs

Composting for Peace is a joint project held by three hubs from different countries, as Belgrade, Mersin and Nicosia Hubs from Serbia, Turkey and Cyprus, consecutively. The mutual attempt in this project is to develop a mutual understanding between different disciplines and learn from each other with the scope of peacebuilding via artistic and cultural activities. All the three hubs have different perspectives on peacebuilding and its enablers; and the joint project is designated to inspect, explore and disseminate the answers that are being looked for to merge art, culture, ecology and the interlinking topics between these disciplines.

The joint project aims to develop mechanisms that help to generate learnings for the future of the ideas and intentions behind VAHA, which can be summarized as establishing new zones that could help arts, culture and civil society to grow in disadvantageous places and zones. Composting for Peace aims for creating opportunities, while rendering its base as a sustainable and prolonging utility for further activities.

 

Concrete Contract 

by Diyarbakır I, Athens and Tirana hubs

Connecting three different cities, Diyarbakır, Athens and Tirana, the project “Concrete Contract” uses fiction as a tool to explore contexts, maps new territories, and produces content through collaborations, exchanges and productions. This fiction will fit and travel into the interstices of a concrete megalopolis spreading over Turkey and the Balkans. It will face local realities, different audiences and environments, but it will also expose what we believe to have in common: a territory linked by geography and history, intertwined practices, yearnings for a different future and the absolute necessity to meet and produce together.

The project will expand over eight different activities that will punctuate and structure the fiction. There will be activity-phases of discussions, data-mining and brainstormings and activities of wide openings, collaborations and production. Storytellings, virtual and physical encounters, participation of artists, travels, workshops, diary of the journey, exhibitions, local events, interactions and publications are amongst the tools that will be used for this purpose. The desired goal is to make this fiction tangible and craft a topography for all to see and explore.

 

ThisPlace – Stories of displaced people in Diyarbakır, Chernihiv and Porto

by Diyarbakır II, Chernihiv and Porto hubs

ThisPlace is the joint project between Diyarbakır II, Chernihiv, and Porto hubs. The project addresses stories of displaced people in these three places, taking into account their political and historical contexts, by developing ways of artistic expression for social change. ThisPlace will develop common strategies and methodologies to be applied locally to three communities: the Kurdish society who had to migrate due to repressive policies in the geographies where the Kurds predominately live; the internally displaced Ukrainian people forced to move due to the Russian military aggression in the East of Ukraine; and people of non-European descent who are discriminated against by structural racism and xenophobia in Portugal. ThisPlace will be developed in two phases: the first, is a collection of individual and subjective stories through collaborative artistic methods; and the second is the production of artistic outcomes to be presented at the three hubs locations.

 

On the other side of the mirror 

by Belgrade and Tirana hubs

“On the other side of the mirror” is a set of regional cultural exchange activities between Divan Hub and Filiza Hub, and their cultural communities in Belgrade and Tirana. The project provides spaces and formats of civic and cultural exchange to discover shared challenges, best practices and potential synergies through collaboration. It invites Albanian and Serbian artists and cultural practitioners to share their experiences and techniques across borders, ideate together, and present themselves and their works to new audiences. “On the other side of the mirror” is also a journey breaking through the flickering narratives and images of prejudices and otherings that blur and cover a large cultural common ground defined by mutual challenges and aspirations.

 
Scale-up Meeting

Between 11-15 November VAHA participants meet up for the first time in person since the VAHA programme started. During our Scale-up Meeting in Çıralı, Antalya the focus will be on new ways of collaboration, peer exchange, working on partnerships and fine tuning the project ideas.

Edited by Rejane Herwig - from VAHA Coordination Team