ARTISTS
Each of these artists lives was touched in some way by Kirkayak Kultur, an organization dedicated to creating harmony between local Turkish residents and Syrian refugees fleeing war. Kirkayak is located in Gaziantep, Turkey, not far from the Turkey-Syria border.
Falak Al Gazzi, Berlin, Federal Republic of Germany
A native of Damascus, Syria, Falak studied art education in college, and later learned animation on the job. She then worked at an animation company and also taught art. With her husband and two sons, she fled Syria in 2012. Their journey was long and complicated. First staying in Algeria, they moved on to Jordan, living there almost two years. Istanbul, Turkey, was then home for nearly five years before they migrated two years ago to a small town near Magdeburg, Germany. Falak now lives alone in Berlin, where she creates art in her small studio and teaches art to children.
Salah Alkhal, Gaziantep, Turkey
Salah worked as a graphic artist in Aleppo after graduating from the University of Damascus-Fine Arts Faculty with a degree in Visual Communication. Leaving Syria in 2011 at the onset of the unrest, he lived for various lengths of time in Qatar, Egypt, and Libya, before finally settling in Gaziantep, Turkey in 2015. Salah continues to live in Gaziantep with his new pal Zeus, working as a freelance graphic artist. He also pursues his passion for painting, whose poetry he believes is more profound than words.
Kamal Oghly, Ankara, Turkey
A documentary photographer since 1980, Kamal has shown his photos in more than 40 exhibitions. While living in Syria, he worked on various visual documentation projects dealing with sustainable development in cooperation with international organizations, including the European Union and United Nations. In 2014 fleeing war and oppression, Kamal left Syria for Turkey. Living first in Ankara, he moved to Gaziantep and Istanbul, finally re-settling in Ankara. Today he works as an educator and program manager for Germany-based International Cultural Academy, and also teaches photography to local displaced Syrian youth.
Roudi Rammo, Kilis, Turkey
Born in Al Hasakah, Syria, Roudi is a self-taught artist painting and drawing from a young age. Working in variety of techniques including oil, portraits and murals, his work has been exhibited in both Syria and Turkey. Before leaving Syria for Turkey at the outset of the war in 2011, he earned a degree in Turkish Literature at Syria’s Halep University, and studied Turkish language in Ankara as a foreign student. Thanks to his excellent Turkish, he integrated relatively comfortably as he moved to Gaziantep, Ankara, Izmir, and Istanbul. Today he lives in Kilis, Turkey, and continues his Masters Degree in Modern Turkish Literature at nearby Gaziantep University.