The Young Artists Fund, initiated by ALIKEV to support young artists, will conclude its fourth term with the theme of "witnessing" in 2023. The exhibition organized within the scope of the fund will be open to visitors at Karşı Sanat Çalışmaları from December 22, 2023, to January 20, 2024.
The exhibition will feature works from 12 young artists in various disciplines such as documentary, painting, puppetry, music, and performance.
The Young Artists Fund is a program created by the Ali İsmail Korkmaz Foundation (ALIKEV) specifically to support young artists who are lacking in social and economic capital and are not adequately represented in civil society and cultural institutions.
Artists and their works featured in the exhibition:
- Alihan Erdoğan & Ezgi Ceylan: "Walls Even Know: Imroz Songs," Music
- Anet Sandra Açıkgöz: "Fugue," Video Art
- Dilan Mine Uğurlu: "Storm Messenger," Puppetry
- Ebru Aksoy: "Between Two Lips," Documentary Film
- Ecre Begüm Bayrak: "When Rains Fall," Cinema
- Gamze Çiçek: "Seed Keepers," Collage
- Hazal Beril Çam: "Like a Fly," Cinema
- Mavi Melike Çatkın: "The Sound of Cracks," Installation
- Özlem Köse: "Leak," Installation
- Seyhan Yegin: "Dejavu," Digital Art
- Suhan Lalettayin & Hakan Öktem: "WRITE POETRY!," Video Poetry
- Yazı Ece Köz & Nur Bardakçı: "I Was There," Performance / Video Installation
- Curators: Deniz Zeybek & Sena Tural
How did the Young Artists Fund emerge?
The Young Artists Fund (YAF) has been continuing as a program since 2018, providing financial support, workshops, and an end-of-term group exhibition for young people who define themselves as artists or are engaged in creative activities.
Facing difficulties in social life related to issues such as education, social justice, and gender identity/sexual orientation, these young people are underrepresented in civil society and cultural arts institutions. In response to this situation, the Ali İsmail Korkmaz Foundation (ALIKEV) offers a program that empowers young people to have a say in both management and production. The Young Artists Fund promotes solidarity rather than competition, striving to create a space for free artistic production.
YAF supports young artists from different production practices, fostering their participation in cultural life. With YAF, ALIKEV aims to create a space where youth can express themselves through art. To increase the visibility of young artists and their works, ALIKEV opens an exhibition and the gsf.alikev.org platform to young artists. In addition to providing the financial support needed for young artists to transform their ideas into artworks, YAF creates a space for them to share their experiences by bringing together young artists and art professionals.
Today, YAF continues to strengthen and operate more collectively by supporting the artistic production process with various workshops and activities. With the newly implemented YAF Network, the aim is to support collective production initiatives among young artists and establish more permanent and sustainable relationships. The network is expected to play a significant role in designing a fund model that protects artists' rights and is friendly to young people.
As YAF completes its fourth year, the YAF Impact Report and Strategy Document reflect on the past and prepare for the future. This study, to be shared with the public, will allow stakeholders to contribute to the development of the fund's working model. Moreover, this work aims to discuss the support offered by civil society organizations to create rights-based and free production spaces for young people.