Düzce Project

This is personal.

Düzce is the city where I was born, grew and gained  all cultural codes which affects my approach to the things and my understanding of them,  and shapes all my production as a creator.Düzce is my playground. Düzce is my subject.

As a person who has taken  his education on his profession in the centre of all things, Istanbul ; I can simply say that Istanbul ignores the rest of the country and considering the social/economical facts, nationwide  austereness, never ending suspicions and unwillingness of the  local authorities; this state of ignorance is  quite understandable, yet not acceptable and must not be left unanswered .

Beral Madra says ‘artist has to produce art as a member of the society’*. Question : Which society?  Unfortunately  art is not flourishing in Anatolia as some say (at least not in Düzce) and since people of the Düzce are not considered as the members of the mentioned society, art is not even dropping by. The statement is clear : It is a every man for himself situation and if there is a problem in creation and distribution of contemporary art in Anatolia and knowing the source of the problem is Istanbul; it is better to start ignoring Istanbul immediately, obviously not relying on empirical data but on survival instincts. Same survival instincts  which I felt  in a conference room full of design students and professionals when I attended Esen Karol’s inspiring presentation titled  “Does Turkey Need Designers?” in 2004.

In my opinion we, people of Düzce, wasted a big opportunity during 2000-2005 reconstruction period after 1999 earthquakes. The reasons may vary but final outcome is solid: failure; we failed to rebuild our city, we failed to rehabilitate the survivors, we failed to mourn  our loses. Today, ten years after the disasters you still come across with the ruins of the apartments in the middle of the city. I wish I could say  it is like the Dresdner Frauenkirche which Germans had  choosen to conserve the  ruins as a war memorial. Unfortunately I can not. It is just miss-usage of resources, ignorance, unawareness.

As a trained expert candidate  for art and culture industry**(!), what can I do for Düzce, a city struggling with severe infrastructure problems and high level of unemployment? Does Düzce needs me?

In 2009, Düzce Commerce and Culture Centre building construction, which started four years before the two massive earthquakes that levelled the city,  is left unfinished and purposeless. Without a declared reconstruction policy, one may think that city of Düzce is  lacking of a monument that symbolizes the loss of lives and pre-earthquake life in the city. Unfortunately, city itself has turned into  an unintentional, accidental, random monument in the last decade.

This long term project will explore the possibility of turning  Düzce Commerce and Culture Center construction yard into a public art space, utopically aiming to claim a portion of the construction for a permanent art&design facility which will serve the city as both an exhibition and  a production space.

Beral Madra (in her own words) ‘naively’ states what we need :  seeking “courageous  and innovative” politicians and businessmen, who are eager to hand the management of the state’s fine art galleries  and culture centers in Anatolian provinces over to young people***.

Unfortunately finding “courageous  and innovative” authorities is not enough for me. Once they found,  they have to be convinced that we can find solutions to the problems of Düzce within Düzce. They have to believe   that even a single city furniture designed in Düzce’s own design workshop for Düzce will bring a new look to the city. They have to be told about what Kassel done, how devastated European cities reconstructed after World War II.  How arts&design can economically affect  a city. This part is obviously the empirical one.

This is not personal.

( *,**,*** Madra , Home Affairs. On Contemporary Art and Culture in Turkey. 2009 BM-SUMA p.21,24,25)