GOALS:
* to help mitigate the vulnerability of Syrian refugee women and to strengthen their hopes
* to help achieve balance and harmony between every part of civil society and unite the “human community”
* to take responsibitity in transformation for obtaining peace and justice
* to bring art as an agent to build dialogue between people
* to generate new equilibrium that emerges from interaction
* to inspire new borderfree society
* to create healing capacities

(Forced) Migration phenomenon is one of the important outcomes of political and ethnic conflicts, environmental catastrophes and income inequality in the world. After the 1980s, Turkey has become a destination country for many migratory movements. Since the Syrian war, among the new refugees are those who approach Turkey as a transit country to reach Western countries; asylum seekers; those who come to settle; those who come to work and lastly victims of trafficking.

As one of the UNHCR’s Implementing Partners, HRDF provides pyscho-social support to refugees and asylum seekers to access health, education and other services in eight offices in seven cities of Turkey; they also work to raise the awareness of local administrators and institutions about refugee rights and provide advocacy activities.

HRDF Syrian Support Office in Esenler, Istanbul, and Seniz Pamuk (BEYAZ Counselling & Personal Development Center) hosted Dilara Akay who introduced sand painting technique to the Syrian refugee women in an art workshop to create together Terzo Paradiso symbol to be exhibited in her solo show at Kuad Gallery from 5th to 30th of April, 2016. Sand painting have a long established cultural history in numerous social groupings around the globe, and are often prepared for rituals and/or healing ceremonies. With this technique many colorful spices were poured and fixed to pre-prepared paper designs in the workshop.

In her Kuad Gallery solo show, Akay has focused on her autobiographical past, displaying family relics and objects that recall sensible associations to these relics. This collection differs from a museological-memorial one in the way that the viewer can discover the history of her family objects and related events through the artworks Akay has produced. The relics consist of an embroidered lion and eagle, a carpet and a comb. These four objects are surrealistically revived in metal sculptures, reliefs, drawings and photography. Drawings from the carpet were used in the “spice-painting” workshop with the Syrian Refugee women living in Istanbul. Akay’s fidelity to this memory is also based on the current refugee crisis in Turkey and in the region; which only refers to grand narratives, such as political conflicts, war, displacements and statistics but never mentions the suffering individuals, family stories and lost lives.

Art, having the capacity of being an agent for such, was used to help achieving personal and social balance and harmony. This workshop symbolizes the will and the wish to create the dialogue to live together in a better, united, fair and just community in the future.

More information about collaborators:
*Dilara Akay www.dilaraakay.com
*Seniz Pamuk (B.E.Y.A.Z Center for Counselling and Personal Development)
www.beyazpsikoloji.com/english.html
*IKGV (HRDF – Human Resources Development Foundation)
www.ikgv.org/duzensiz_goc_en.html
*Kuad Gallery Dilara Akay “AHRAZ / Deaf & Mute” exhibition
www.kuadgallery.com/exhibition/dilara-akay-deaf-mute/