opencall

WE—THE BOUN ART COLLECTIVE, BOUNSERGİ—ARE A GROUP OF QUEER INDIVIDUALS WHO BELIEVE THAT FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IS CRUCIAL IN AN OCCASION OF REPRESSION. OUR COLLECTIVE FORMED ITSELF AT A STATE OF EMERGENCY IN WHICH OUR SO-CALLED SAFE SPACES WERE UNDER SIEGE, AND WE NEEDED TO STAND TOGETHER TO PREVENT FALLING. BESIDES THE UNFORTUNATE EVENTS THAT WE WENT THROUGH TOGETHER, WE ALSO HAD OUR SMALL VICTORIES OF BUILDING SOLIDARITY. THE EXPRESSIVE FREE ART MOVEMENT WAS THE ONE THAT WE DEDICATED OURSELVES TO, AND WE TOOK THE NECESSARY RISKS FOR ITS SAKE. IT IS IMPORTANT FOR THE MARGINALIZED ONES TO TAKE AN ACTIVE ROLE IN WRITING HISTORY, WHICH IS WHY ART IS THE SAFE HAVEN FOR THOSE WHO ARE PUSHED ASIDE, AND FOR IT TO KEEP BEING A SAFE SPACE, IT SHOULD BE KEPT FREE. TO BE DRIVEN TO THE MARGINS OF SOCIETY IS A HARD BURDEN TO BEAR, BUT IT IS MORE POSSIBLE IN A SYSTEM OF RECIPROCAL AID AND OPEN-MINDEDNESS. THE GOAL OF THE EXHIBITION WAS TO BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER AND GIVE THEM A PLATFORM OF VISIBILITY. NO MORE HIDING IN THE MARGINS. AS BOUNSERGI ART COLLECTIVE, WE SUCCEEDED IN COLLECTING MORE THAN 400 ARTWORKS THANKS TO THE CONTRIBUTION OF 150 ARTISTS WORLDWIDE ON THE FIRST EXHIBITION AND 300 MORE FROM DIFFERENT ARTISTS ON THE SECOND EXHIBITION. THE PIECES SUBMITTED VARIED IN THEIR CONCEPTS, MEDIUMS, AND PERSPECTIVES. THERE WAS A FESTIVITY OF DIVERSITY. IT WAS POSSIBLE FOR ONE TO SEE A PATTERN CONSTRUCTED BY THE INTERSECTION OF COURAGEOUS CRITIQUE AND FREEDOM OF THOUGHT THAT CAME FROM ART THAT IS FREE OF CENSORSHIP. THE STATE FELT THREATENED BY THIS COURAGE OF SPEAKING UP AND DID WHAT THEY DO BEST, WHICH IS TO VILIFY AND CRIMINALIZE THE OTHER AND MAKE THE PUBLIC FEAR WHAT THEY DO NOT KNOW AND DO NOT UNDERSTAND. FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY CANNOT FUNCTION UNDER AUTHORITARIANISM. FREEDOM REQUIRES A MOVEMENT OF ANY KIND THAT IS NOT POLICED, AND DEMOCRACY COMES WITH A MYRIAD OF PERSPECTIVES FUNCTIONING UNDER A DOME OF EQUALITY. THESE ARE THE EXACT IDEAS THAT THE OPPRESSIVE STATES TRY SO HARD TO CENSOR INTO OBLIVION. IDEAS ARE THE VERY SOIL THAT INVENTIONS OF A BETTER WORLD GROW UPON. AUTHORITARIAN STATES WISH TO SUPPRESS INDIVIDUALS WHO THINK FOR THEMSELVES. THEY WISH TO DO THE THINKING FOR THEIR CITIZENS, AND THEIR WILL FOR INDEPENDENCE IS DEEMED TO BE DANGEROUS. THERE SHOULD BE A FREE SPACE FOR ANYONE TO BE WHO THEY MERELY ARE, A ROOM FOR EVERYONE TO BREATHE IN. WE CAN CO-EXIST AS DIFFERENT PEOPLE ONLY IF THE BASIC HUMAN DECENCY OF RESPECT WAS A PART OF POLITICS. THE AIM OF THE RESISTANCE IS TO DEMAND OUR BASIC HUMAN RIGHTS WHILE ILLUSTRATING HOW THE AUTHORITY PREVENTS US FROM HAVING THEM. THESE ARE THE GROUNDS THAT OUR RESISTANCE GREW UPON. WE SIMPLY WANTED TO EXIST AS WE ARE AND BE RESPECTED FOR IT. THE MORE WE OCCUPY, THE MORE WE TAKE BACK THE SPACES THAT USED TO BELONG TO US. THE BOUNSERGI TAKEOVER AIMS TO CREATE A PLAYGROUND FOR ACTIVE DREAMING FOR THE VISITORS TO OCCUPY THE PLACE WITH US SO THAT WE CAN PLAY ALL TOGETHER. THIS WHOLE JOURNEY IS A PROCESS OF DISCOVERY FOR US, SO WE WISH TO BUILD NOVEL DREAMS WITH THE ONES WHO DON’T GIVE UP ON PLAYING UNDER IMPOSSIBLE CIRCUMSTANCES. THE GOAL OF OUR TAKEOVER IS TO FIND JOY UNDER THE DEPRESSING CONDITION OF THE WORLD THROUGH THE EXHIBITION THAT ALSO FUNCTIONS AS A FESTIVAL SPACE THAT CELEBRATES THE SIMPLE FACT THAT WE ARE ALL ALIVE. THE OCCUPATION AND THE PROCESS OF TRANSFORMING THE PLACE INTO A PLAYGROUND WILL BE AN ANARCHIST ONE, WE PROMISE. ANYONE WHO WOULD LIKE TO CONTRIBUTE WILL BE ABLE TO DETERMINE THE COURSE OF THE EXHIBITION. IT WILL BE BORDERLESS AND INTERACTIVE; ONE MAY EASILY DETERMINE THE FOLLOWING HAPPENINGS IF THE IDEA IS HEARD. THE IDEA OF HAVING A SIMULTANEOUS EXHIBITION BETWEEN ISTANBUL AND BERLIN IS IMPORTANT FOR US. WE WANT TO DRAW ATTENTION TO THE LACK OF BORDERS BETWEEN OUR STRUGGLES. THE BOUNSERGI ART COLLECTIVE IS AN EMOTIONALLY REACTIVE ORGANISM THAT SEES ARTISTIC EXPRESSION AS THE MOST REASONABLE INSTRUMENT TO REFLECT ON THE DISTURBING HAPPENINGS AROUND THE GLOBE THAT ARE WORSENING EACH DAY. BECOMING NUMB AS A SOCIETY IS UNSETTLINGLY CONTAGIOUS AND HIGHLY APPRAISED. PEOPLE ARE EXPECTED TO STAY CALM AND NUMB THEMSELVES SO THAT THEY DON’T STOP FUNCTIONING AND PRODUCING. EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE THE RIGHT TO CRY AND TO BE HEARD. PEOPLE SHOULD HAVE THE RIGHT TO CELEBRATE AND MOURN AS LONG AS THEY NEED TO. YOUTH HAS LOST THEIR YOUTH TO THE PROPAGANDA MACHINE; IT IS OUR GOAL TO DEMAND THE RIGHT TO DREAM AGAIN. WE ARE AT WAR, BUT THIS IS NOT BREAKING NEWS. IT WAS ALREADY HAPPENING IN TWO-THIRDS OF THE WORLD. NOW THAT THE EUROPEANS ARE ALSO CONCERNED, THE WORLD IS ABOUT TO BE ALLOWED TO PANIC! FINALLY, WE ARE PERMITTED TO EXPRESS OUR CONCERNS AND CONDEMNATIONS. UN PROVES HOW EFFICIENT THIS IS. YOUTH CAN RESIST OR YOUTH CAN LAUGH HYSTERICALLY. THESE QUARANTINE DAYS KILL A FEW SPARKS OF RESISTANCE THAT THE OLD SCHOOL LEFTISTS DREAMED ABOUT. IT IS NO LONGER CROWDED IN THE STREETS, EVEN IF IT IS, IT’S DUE TO THE WORKING HOURS, PARADE OF THE BUSINESSMEN, AND ALTHOUGH SELDOM IT IS, IF PROTESTERS START TO GATHER AROUND IN A PUBLIC SQUARE, POLICE WILL BE THERE TO BEAT THE ONES WHO SPEAK THE LOUDEST AND PACK THE OTHER ONES UNDER A LABEL THAT WORKS FOR THE OTHERING CAMPAIGN. WHAT THEY MISS IS THE MARGINS ARE WHERE THE MOST BEAUTIFUL FLOW ERS BLOOM. SAFE FROM BEING TRAMPLED BY THOSE SIMPLY TRYING TO MAKE IT WORK. WITHOUT AIM OR DIRECTION, TRYING TO SURVIVE. WE DON’T LIKE HOW THOSE IN POWER STRUCTURED HUMANITY THROUGHOUT HISTORY, AND WE WANT ALL OF THEM TO RETIRE. THEY ALREADY DRIED THE VEINS OF THE EARTH AND NOW THEY WANT TO BURN IT TO ASHES. HOW CAN WE STOP THIS FORCEFUL DEMISE? HOW CAN ONE BE MANY AND HAVE THEIR VOICES TREMBLE THE EARDRUMS OF EVERY PERSON IN THIS CITY, THIS CONTINENT, THE WORLD? WE AIM TO START A FIRE OF RESISTANCE AND REBELLION IN THE PARTICIPANTS' HEARTS. OUR ACTIVISM IS AN EMOTIONAL ONE. CAN WE REALLY DANCE WHILE EVERY STRUCTURE WE WERE MADE TO BELIEVE IN IS IN FLAMES? CAN WE HAVE FUN UNDER THE SHADOW OF THE FEAR OF AN UPCOMING NUCLEAR WINTER? WE WILL TRY OUR BEST. OUR GENERATION IS BORED WITH THE SAME OLD, SAME OLD BULLSHIT. SADNESS, FRUSTRATION, AND DESPERATION HAVE BECOME OUR MOTHER TONGUE. WE DO NOT KNOW HOW TO SAVE THE WORLD; WE CAN CREATE A SPACE FOR BRAINSTORMING THOUGH. WE ARE WORKING DAY AND NIGHT TO MOVE PAST OUR LOSS OF HOPE AND CONFUSION. NONE OF THE STEPS WE SHOULD TAKE ARE VISIBLE TO US; WE ARE ONLY TRYING OUR VERY BEST TO BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER AND LET THEM BE A PART OF US. SO ONE COULD SAY THAT IT IS AN INTUITIVE JOURNEY FOR ALL OF US... SOLIDARITY IS AN EXTENSION OF OUR COLLECTIVE; THE PASSIVE PASSERSBY ON THE STREET ARE OUR MOST IMPORTANT ASSETS. WE STARTED IN THE STREET, AND OUR WAR IS STILL OUT THERE. NO HOPE, BUT WE STILL TRY TO FIND THE TINIEST SPARK TO IGNITE THIS CITY ON FIRE. A TAKEOVER BY THE PEOPLE FOR THE PEOPLE. WE NEED TO SEE PAST THE BULLSHIT AND NEOLIBERAL BRAIN-ROT. WE NEED TO REALIZE THAT OUR INDIVIDUAL ACTIONS WILL NOT BRING US ANYWHERE COMPARED TO WHAT WE THE PEOPLE ARE CAPABLE OF IF ONLY WE COULD UNITE. AGAIN; WE ARE CONFUSED AND CANNOT SEE CLEARLY THE PATH IN FRONT OF US, SO HOPEFULLY SOMEONE OR SOMEONES CAN COME AND TELL US THEIR STORY. WITH EVERY NEW PERSPECTIVE, OUR VISION BROADENS UNTIL WE BECOME A CREATURE WITH MANY EYES THAT CAN SEE INTO EVERY DIRECTION NOT DISTRACTED BY PROPAGANDA OR MORE LIES. WE WANT TO CREATE A SPACE FOR ALL WHO ARE WILLING TO TELL THEIR STORIES AND INTERVENE IN THE INTERVENTION. WE ARE THE YOUTH WITH NO FUTURE. WE ARE SICK OF THE DISTRACTIONS IMPOSED BY THE CLOWNS OF THE MEDIA. WE ARE SICK OF DOOM-SCROLLING OUR TWITTER FEED TO FEEL WORSE THAN HOW WE STARTED WITH. WE ARE SICK OF NOT BEING ABLE TO TRUST WHAT WE HEAR. WE WANT SOLIDARITY. WE WANT TO SCREAM INJUSTICE INTO THE VOID, HOPING AT LEAST ONE PERSON HEARS OUR CRY. WE ARE UPSET AND WANT TO MAKE YOU UNCOMFORTABLE. WE WANT TO FIND JOY IN OUR DISCOMFORT AND MAKE A PLAYGROUND TO DISCOVER SOMETHING WE MIGHT NOT HAVE KNOWN BEFORE. ALLOW US THE SPACE TO EXIST AS WE ARE WITH OTHERS THAT WANT TO IDENTIFY THEMSELVES WITH US. THE BOUN-SERGI TAKEOVER PROMISES TO TRIGGER AND ENTERTAIN YOU. WE CAN CREATE A SPACE WHERE YOU CAN SCREAM AS LOUD AS YOU WANT TO, AND WE WILL GUARANTEE TO YOU THAT NO ONE WILL HAVE THE AUDACITY TO SILENCE YOU. FOR IF THEY DO, WE WILL COME TOGETHER TO CREATE A PRIMAL SCREAM THAT WILL SHAKE THE VERY GROUND YOU TRUST TO STAY STILL. WE PROMISE TO SAY WHAT YOU MIGHT BE AFRAID TO SAY SOLELY ALTOGETHER; WHEN WE DO, IT WILL BE LOUD. RESIST TO THE BEST OF YOUR ABILITIES AGAINST ALL KINDS OF OPPRESSION. DREAM OF A BETTER WORLD AND CONVINCE YOURSELF AGAINST ALL ODDS THAT IT WILL BE POSSIBLE. TO MAKE A DREAM POSSIBLE, YOU WILL HAVE TO STRUGGLE, AND DON’T EVER FORGET THE FACT THAT STRUGGLE IS HOPE, AND HOPE IS THE FUEL TO MAKE A DREAM COME TRUE.