Collecting The Future
Arts and Culture As A Catalyser For Urban Development
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‘Collecting The Future’ will take place in the city of Sinop which lies on the most northern point of the Black Sea coast of Turkey. For thousands of years this city has been a strategic point in the cultural and trade systems of the Black Sea Region. The port of Sinop has been a host to many civilizations, including Bronze Age, Greek, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman. Although the city was an important centre for shipbuilding during the Ottoman period, it lost its function during the transformation of the empire .In 1887 the historical dockyards were converted into a prison complex. As a result, the shipbuilding and commercial centre of the past became a prison town and was left to poverty. The geographical position of Sinop, on a foreland with only a single entry point, also contributed to the isolation of the city. In the cold war period Sinop became the “big ear” of the western alliance and was used as a NATO base to control the USSR.
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Sinop entered 20th century as an isolated place from the world. The isolation of the city created other problems such as economic recession, unemployment and migration of young people from the city. The main employment facility of its citizens was the NATO base. After the collapse of the eastern bloc there has been no need for the NATO base in Sinop, which made the economy even worse and the main employment area was closed.
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After a long period of isolation, Sinop is now in the opening up process. Today, Sinop is getting more popular due to its values and resources coming from the past. The citizens are very excited about the new situation. However, the new situation of the city should be carefully evaluated. Otherwise, in case of unplanned opening up process, the city will merely experience short term benefits and popularity but not a sustainable development. The city and its citizens may even lose their existing values and resources. The main importance is to create and increase the awareness for their values and then create consciousness for protecting these values. The best sustainable solution will be to put the case clearly and freshen the lost and existing values for future. Popular events and popular investments can create a lively Sinop for today but after some time Sinop will be left again to its destiny, destructed like many other cities. Before it is too late for Sinop, this project aims to create this awareness of protection for a better future. This project will try to contribute to this solution using ‘Arts and Culture’.
How will this happen?
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Collecting the Future project provisions that citizens’ future are handling by its citizens. How should the future of Sinop be? What is worth to save or use from today and from past when building and constructing the future? What was missing until now? When building the future, which experiences and models should we use? During that process, what will be our duties and responsibilities? Collecting Future project while preparing a temporary ‘City Museum’ will be searching for answers to these questions altogether.
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The first action of this project will start with an international forum on 7-8th September. Right after that meeting seminars and workshops will take place, where Sinop citizens will have an opportunity to exchange ideas and knowledge with local and European experts and artists.
In designing the future of Sinop, Think-Tank and planning process with experts in workshops will be realised including the subjects of urban design, tourism, re-functioning of heritage buildings, culture’s contribution to city’s economy, role of civil society on city’s development. Ideas developed will be both published during the project on papers (Sinopsis) and will be documented with a book after the project is finalised.
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During all these thinking process, the artists will produce artworks by collaborating with Sinop citizens and will present their artistic proposals for future Sinop.
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This project which is supported by the ‘Promotion of the Civil Society Dialogue II’ grant program between EU and Turkey is the extension of the 3rd Sinop International Biennial which has been realised last year. Project partners are AltArt from Romania, Felix Meritis from Netherland and Collabor.at from Austria. Nuova Icona from Italy, City Council Youth Assembly of Sinop, Sinop Young Businessmen Association as well as the Romanian Cultural Institute are the associates of the project.
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Collecting Future will build a foundation for regional and local projects which are initiated Sinop in future years.
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Collecting the Future facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=240514102656861
