The exhibition at DEPO does not approach migration as a monolithic label

Prepared by mezopArt, the exhibition titled "Migration Stories: Art, Resistance and Solidarity," which examines the traces of migration and displacement on home, body, memory, and belonging, meets art lovers at DEPO.

Scope of the Exhibition and Artists

Organized under the title "Migration Stories: Art, Resistance and Solidarity," the exhibition approaches migration not as a homogenous experience, but rather addresses the different forms it takes in the life of each artist.

Hosting visitors at DEPO, the exhibition features painting, video, photography, and installation works by Adele Tamam, Ara Chalym, Irmak Suzan Ertaş, Persefoni Myrtsou, and Saeed Mirshekari.

Product of a Shared Encounter

The project began with an artist-in-residency program at the Armaş Foundation, which brought together storytellers with a migration background from the Netherlands and artists producing work in Turkey.

The exhibition was realized in partnership with mezopArt, Hür Adalar, New Women Connectors, and BAK Basecamp, within the scope of the VAHA program and with the support of the Consulate General of the Netherlands.

Approach to the Definition of Migrant Artist

mezopArt founder İlkay Bilgiç stated that they questioned the term migrant artist, but did not believe there was a single correct definition in its place.

Emphasizing that the artists were not asked to specifically produce work about migration, Bilgiç noted that the phenomenon of migration appears directly in some works and indirectly in others.

Artists' Production Practices

Saeed Mirshekar stated that in his works, he draws attention to the coldness of medical language and focuses on asking the question "why" through poetry and painting.

Persefoni Myrtsou, on the other hand, focuses in her work on the history of population exchange through family history, land, and the experience of rebuilding life in a foreign place.