Learning and interaction space opens its doors

ISTANBUL

İKSV Alt Kat: Learning and Interaction Space, an initiative of the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV) and supported by the Istanbul Development Agency (İSTKA), aims at increasing access and participation to cultural and artistic events, and will be presenting event and workshop programs in collaboration with Boğaziçi University in various fields throughout the year.

The new space was presented to public on March 5 with the participation of Chairman of İKSV Bülent Eczacıbaşı, İSTKA General Secretary Fatih Pişkin, and İKSV Alt Kat Manager Elif Obdan Gürkan.

Stating that more than 10 million people attended İKSV events, Eczacıbaşı said, “We are developing new projects aimed at increasing the attendance of young people at our events, contributing to the development of future generations of art lovers, and making culture and art events much more accessible to the general public. The İKSV Alt Kat is one such project. Drawing on the expertise of all İKSV festival and biennial teams, Alt Kat will offer activities to young people, children and other groups with limited access to culture and the arts. This way, we hope to meet many new art lovers who have never before had an opportunity to attend our events and who might one day be among the most enthusiastic followers of İKSV festivals and biennials.”

Pişkin said: “We have supported the ‘İKSV Alt Kat: Learning and Interaction Space’ project in order to advocate the participation of children, youth and groups with limited access living in Istanbul with different socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds in arts and culture. This project will contribute to the education of disadvantaged children and increase their participation in social life.”

Delivering the details of the event and workshop programs to be held throughout the year, Gürkan said that they designed İKSV Alt Kat as a new space that will be able to bring different groups and disciplines together and to apply these suggestions in their own building and within the body of the foundation.

With its 120-meter-square venue accessible to people with disability and children on the basement floor of the Nejat Eczacıbaşı building in Şişhane, İKSV Alt Kat will provide a space for learning and interaction to all age groups through the events that will be free of charge, as well as its extensive library. The venue intends to directly reach children, youth, and groups with limited access to culture and arts, and also to promote interaction between cultural professionals, non-governmental organisations, artists, trainers, and viewers.

Within the scope of the project, the archive of İKSV and a children’s library, expected to include 3,000 children’s books for ages 3 to 15, will be opened to the access of visitors and researchers from all age groups.

In order to build a participatory, inclusive, multi-cultural, multi-disciplinary, and accessible platform, the venue will present an annual program including workshops, art education programs, lectures, screenings, exhibitions, and other events in various fields such as music, cinema, theatre, design, and visual arts. Within the scope of İKSV Alt Kat, more than 200 events and workshops in various fields will be held free of charge until March 2020.

İKSV Alt Kat events will be held in cooperation with many partners ranging from non-governmental organizations, local and foreign cultural institutions, Ministry and Directorates of National Education to schools, universities, professional associations, and employees in the sphere of culture and arts, and education.

İKSV Alt Kat also coordinates the Early Childhood Development & Culture and Arts Project held by İKSV since 2018 with the support of the Bernard Van Leer Foundation and the collaboration of Boğaziçi University. The project aims to raise awareness and knowledge on early childhood development and to promote the production of culture and art content and its accessibility for families.

Within the scope of the project, the children’s books prepared by various authors and illustrators under the editorship of Burcu Ural Kopan for İKSV festivals and biennials are published in Turkish, English, and Arabic. The books will be accessible free of charge at event venues as well as several bookshops. Not only festival and biennial venues, but also İKSV Alt Kat will witness exclusive events and reading workshops on these books.

Within the scope of the project, in 2019, children’s books will be prepared for the 47th Istanbul Music Festival, the 26th Istanbul Jazz Festival, the 16th Istanbul Biennial and the 23rd Istanbul Theater Festival.

The highly acclaimed free guided tours titled Baby Mornings, first held during the 4th Istanbul Design Biennial last year for families with babies and caregivers, will be relaunched during the 16th Istanbul Biennial in 2019.