Kadına Karşı Şiddete Karşı Sanat!

To read :  Art Against Violence Project Final Report 

14-15 Aralık tarihlerinde gerçekleşen serginin açılışı Seyhan Belediye Başkanı Akif Kemal Akay, İrlanda Büyükelçiliği Misyon Başkan Yardımcısı Ronan Cunniffe, MaviKalem Yönetim Kurulu Başkan Yardımcısı Tiraje Zeynep Yüregir ve MaviKalem Yönetim Kurulu Üyesi – Ressam/Heykeltıraş Meryem Tomak’ın konuşmaları ile yapıldı.

The exhibition, which took place on December 14-15, was held with speeches by Akif Kemal Akay, Mayor of Seyhan Municipality, Ronan Cunniffe, Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of Ireland, Tiraje Zeynep Yüregir, Vice Chairman of MaviKalem Board of Directors, and Meryem Tomak, MaviKalem Board Member – Painter/Sculptor.

Tiraje Zeynep Yüregir, Vice Chairperson of the Board of MaviKalem, said the following in her opening speech:  “At MaviKalem, we work to improve the lives of women and children, especially disadvantaged groups. This exhibition is an effort to stop violence against women and to keep this issue on the agenda. Most of the 129 women who participated in the workshops had never painted before. They took part in this work by expressing their own feelings and thoughts.”

In his opening speech, Seyhan Mayor Akif Kemal Akay said, “This exhibition has a very serious meaning. This exhibition means something to us with its three dimensions including art, women, and violence. I would like to thank those who prepared and supported this exhibition and my friends who gave women the opportunity to express their feelings.”

Ronan Cunniffe, Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of Ireland, which supports the project, said in his speech at the opening ceremony: “We know that the way to achieve equality starts with combating all forms of violence, harassment and abuse against women and girls. This struggle starts with breaking the silence on violence and making women’s voices heard more strongly. A woman’s voice can be heard through words or writing, but it can also be expressed through art and the power of expression, as in this exhibition. I would like to thank MaviKalem for realizing this project and pioneering such an important issue.”

MaviKalem Board Member – Painter/Sculptor Meryem Tomak, who implemented the painting workshops, said: “We were able to conduct these workshops in very short periods of time, 2-3 hours, because there was too much burden on women. Women had no time to spare for themselves, no time to create their own spaces. In these workshops we talked a little bit about this, we talked about violence. They worked on the feelings this created in themselves.”

The exhibition featured 12 large-scale paintings and photographs taken during the painting workshops organized with the support of Avcılar Municipality, Esenyurt Municipality and Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality in Istanbul, Seyhan Municipality in Adana, Defne Municipality and Antakya Municipality in Hatay. The first exhibition within the scope of the project was held on November 25-26 at Büyükada Taş Mektep in cooperation with Adalar Municipality and with the venue support provided by IBB Department of Culture and Arts.

Throughout 2023, 129 women participated in 10 different workshops in the project, which aims to keep violence against women on the agenda, to support solidarity among women and to mediate women’s reactions to violence through art. In the workshops that started in Istanbul and continued in Adana and Hatay earthquake zones, women talked about violence, shared their experiences, and painted. The project is supported by the Embassy of Turkey in Ireland and the exhibitions will be repeated in Hatay after Istanbul and Adana.

The first of the exhibitions within the scope of the “Art Against Violence!” project implemented by MaviKalem was held in Büyükada on 25 November, International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. The exhibition, which was held at Büyükada Taş Mektep on 25-26 November with the cooperation of the Municipality of Adalar and with the venue support provided by the IMM Department of Culture and Arts, was opened with speeches by Erdem Gül, Mayor of Adalar; David Aşgın Walsh, Consul & Second Clerk from the Embassy of Ireland; Filiz Ayla, Director of the Board of MaviKalem; and Meryem Tomak, Member of the Board of MaviKalem – Painter/Sculptor.

In her opening speech, Filiz Ayla, Director of MaviKalem’s Board said: “We wanted to launch this exhibition on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, on the first day of 16 days of activism, because this exhibition consists of workshops with small groups of women on combating violence against women. I would like to thank Consul David Aşgın Walsh from the Embassy of Ireland, Office Manager Hande Özden, Mayor of Adalar Erdem Gül and Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Department of Culture for their support.” In his opening speech, Mayor of Adalar Erdem Gül said “Today we are celebrating 25 November. It is women who will save a country, women are the life”.

Consul & Second Clerk David Aşgın Walsh from the Embassy of Ireland, which is the supporter of the project, said: “The power of words is indisputable, but there are some moments when a form of expression that exceeds the limits of words is required. This is where the language of art comes into play. Visual messages, melodies and movements reach depths that speech cannot reach. These works you see today are not only a sight for the eyes, but also evidence of stories that touch the heart.” MaviKalem Board Member – Painter/Sculptor Meryem Tomak also gave information about the preparation process of the exhibition. Tomak said, “Women told the effects of violence on them and their solutions through their paintings.  The paintings made by women who had never painted in their lives impressed us all. There were some of them who had a tendency to paint, but the most effective for me were the women who painted on violence without ever taking any paper or any paint in their hands before.” The exhibition at Taş Mektep, which was also visited by Arjen Uijterlinde, Consul General of the Netherlands in Istanbul, included 12 large-scale paintings and photographs taken in the workshops organised with the support of Adana Seyhan Municipality, Hatay Defne and Antakya municipalities, Istanbul Avcılar and Esenyurt municipalities and Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality.

Throughout 2023, 129 women participated in 10 different workshops in the project, which aims to keep violence against women on the agenda, support solidarity among women and mediate women’s reactions to violence through art.

The exhibition organised within the scope of the project supported by the Embassy of Turkey in Ireland will be repeated in Adana and Hatay as well as other districts of Istanbul. 

The first of the exhibitions within the scope of the project “Art Against Violence!” carried out by MaviKalem will be opened at Büyükada Taş Mektep on 25 November, International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, in cooperation with the Municipality of Princes’ Islands.

Throughout 2023, 129 women participated in 10 different workshops in the project, which aims to keep violence against women on the agenda, to support solidarity among women and to mediate women’s reactions to violence through art. In the workshops that started in Istanbul and continued in Adana and Hatay earthquake regions, women talked about violence, shared their experiences, and painted. Painter/sculptor Meryem Tomak implemented the workshops where women living in the earthquake region shared their experiences on earthquake and violence against women.

In the workshops held with the support of Avcılar Municipality, Esenyurt Municipality and Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality in Istanbul, Seyhan Municipality in Adana, Defne Municipality and Antakya Municipality in Hatay, 12 large-scale paintings as well as many drawings and drawings reflecting violence against women were produced.

The first exhibition of the project, which is supported by the Embassy of Turkey in Ireland, will open on 25 November, International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, at Büyükada Taş Mektep on Saturday 25 November at 14.00 as part of the venue support provided by IBB Department of Culture and Arts.

The exhibition will be repeated in Adana and Hatay as well as other districts of Istanbul.

We started a project to keep violence against women on the agenda, to raise public awareness about violence against women, to support solidarity among women, and to mediate the expression of women’s reactions to violence through art.

When a reaction is like violence, it can be expressed through an art medium. This is the characteristic of art that intensifies emotions and strengthens words. With this project, we support the use of art as a means of self-expression for women by conducting art workshops with women to bring violence against women to the agenda.

We cooperate with municipalities to organize painting workshops in appropriate units and areas of municipalities. To date, we have held workshops in Avcılar Municipality, Esenyurt Municipality, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Sulukule Neighborhood House, Adana Seyhan Municipality, Hatay Defne Municipality and Antakya Municipality. These workshops are led by Painter and Sculptor Meryem Tomak.

Women of different ages from different social groups participate in the workshops. Thus, we support the depiction of violence against women in the lives of all women. Thanks to these workshops, a suitable external environment is created where women can express their feelings about violence and include their own solution options in their work.