In partnership with institutions outside of Turkey, SAHA supports the research and self-development of artists, writers, and curators from Turkey by facilitating their engagement in the international context, and thereby continues to collaborate with studio and residency programs abroad while running its own studio and curatorial program in Istanbul at SAHA Studio and SAHA Residency.
Through open calls for 2024, SAHA’s partners invited new artists from Turkey in residency: Delfina Foundation in London invited two artists from Turkey for six weeks each, namely Didem Erbaş as of early January and Merve Mepa as of mid-February. International Studio and Curatorial Program (ISCP) in New York invited artist Alper Aydın from Ordu between March and May 2024. Artist Zeynep Kayan who has been working at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten in Amsterdam since 2022 continues into her second year in residency until Summer 2024.
In 2023, SAHA hosted in İstanbul ten resident artists from different parts of Turkey, in addition to three curators from Athens, Chios, and Tel Aviv in partnership with ARTWORKS and Artis, respectively. Regarding international collaborations, Eda Gecikmez had pursued research and studio practice in the ISCP between March and May. Berkay Tuncay was at the Delfina Foundation focusing on cultural heritage and communication in correspondence with British Museum curators between April and May, while curator Deniz Kırkalı was at Berlin’s Slavs and Tatars Residency to work with the collective on the Costumes and Collapse program and the project entitled SLURS. As per the recently-launched partnership with MORPHO, artist Nihan Somay had a residency in Antwerp in the initiatory term between August and September.
In Istanbul, SAHA Studio offers its participants production, networking, public programming, and learning opportunities for 6 to 9 months through the contribution of SAHA’s international partnerships. Continuing its programs at its new spaces in the Istanbul Manifacturers’ Market (İMÇ), located in Unkapanı, SAHA Studio hosts five visual artists from İstanbul, Mardin, and Rotterdam, namely Mehmet Ali Boran, İrem Günaydın, Gizem Karakaş, Merve Kılıçer and İrem Tok between November 2023 and June 2024. The artists are invited by a selection committee that also acts as advisors throughout the program. In 2023–2024, Ali Kazma, Kevser Güler, and Çelenk Bafra deliberated and selected the artists from among the nominations of 8 independent art initiatives across Turkey as well as SAHA Studio alumni. SAHA Studio Open will be held on Saturday, the 2nd of March, as a midterm gathering that aims to engage in the dialogue the preliminary ideas, circumstances, and concepts that enkindle the artists’ ongoing projects, which will be presented through an exhibition and public programming in late May.
For further inquiries and applications: info [at] saha.org.tr
