Kirkayak Kultur, Gaziantep, Turkey

Gaziantep, a city of two million close to the Turkey-Syria border, has a long history of receiving immigrants. Daily encounters between people of different cultures, languages, and religions are inevitable. The arrival of a large number of refugees fleeing Syria’s civil war amplified this situation. In response, Kirkayak Kultur was founded in 2011 by a group of academics, artists and activists. Our mission is simple: to promote a sense of “living together” in a shared, democratic “open space.” We bring together members of different communities to socialize with one another through art-related events, and other cultural activities, like culinary workshops. We work towards this goal through Kirkayak Art Center and Kirkayak Center for Migration and Cultural Studies. Each of the Syrian artists in this exhibition crossed paths with Kirkayak Kultur during their personal journeys.