Kaos GL (Kaos Gay and Lesbian Cultural Research and Solidarity Association) announces the first open call of the Ankara Queer Art Program artist residency.
It invites artists who seek intersecting particularities of artistic expression and queer politics. The artist residency will host five visual artists from Turkey and abroad every year. Each artist-in-residence will be invited for a duration of 2 months. The residency covers round trip travel, accommodation, a materials/project budget and a stipend for living costs. During the residency, artists will be provided opportunities according to their research theme and interests 3/4 visiting art institutions, and research initiatives, meeting with artists, activists, scholars and curators in Turkey to spark conversation and exchange.
Kaos GL
Established in Ankara, Turkey, Kaos GL Association has been working to eliminate the discrimination on the basis of language, race, color, gender, sexual orientation, philosophical conviction, religion, religious sect, locality that are faced by LGBTI+s. Producing political critique and interventions, conducting educational programs, organizing exhibitions and carrying publishing activities, Kaos GL has been contributing to the development of the political, cultural and artistic infrastructure of Turkey since 1994.
The City of Ankara
The capital of the Republic of Turkey, Ankara was one of the cosmopolitan towns of the Ottoman Empire, with its historically substantial non-Muslim and non-Ottoman population. It is a city that bears threads of history tracing back to the Roman and Byzantine eras. Artificially reconstructed during the early 20th century establishment of the Turkish Republic, Ankara has undergone a state-directed homogenization project, of both its population and its public space. On the other hand, traces of what could not be erased persist in the city, as one may unexpectedly face a Roman column, an Armenian vineyard house, an 800-year-old mosque, a church wall, together with rare examples of modern monumental architecture of Turkey.
Right after the military coup in 1980, artists, activists, and thinkers built up a community that critically engaged in art and politics, gathered around the art spaces of the era such as Galeri Nev and Siyah Beyaz. The METU Audio-Visual Systems Research and Production Center (GİSAM) was established and became a research lab through the workshops for artists and thinkers. From the mid-1990s video activism has been an iconic feature of the city in terms of the artistic sphere with the efforts of the collectives; Videa, Vitopia, Karahaber, 25+ and many others. Ankara is also the city of ‘artists in archive’, Bak.ma, Artıkişler, Anarşiv, and İmkansız Arşiv are some of the collectives filling the gaps of social memory.
For more information: ankaraqueer.art
For inquiries: info [at] ankaraqueer.art
Selection Committee: Fatih Özgüven (Art Critic, Translator, Author), Nilbar Güreş (Artist), Çelenk Bafra (Director of the SAHA Association, Curator, Writer), Derya Bayraktaroğlu (Curator, Writer), Erinç Seymen (Artist), Kevser Güler (Curator), Bige Örer (Director of the Istanbul Biennial), Ege Berensel (Artist, Visual Researcher), Aylime Aslı Demir (Editor, Curator)
Advisory Committee: Tanıl Bora (Academician, Author, Translator), Sibel Tekin (Academician, Video Activist), Funda Şenol Cantek (Academician, Author) Metehan Özcan (Artist, Academician), Ege Berensel (Artist, Visual Researcher), Deniz Artun (Director of Gallery Nev, Curator, Author), Ayla Deniz (Academician)
Program Director: Aylime Aslı Demir