New graduate artists gather at BASE

Hatice Utkan Özden

In Turkey, many young people graduate from fine art faculties. Some have no clue what to do, while some only want to foster their artistic talents. 

“BASE, as a platform, wants to help them to find their first step in the art world,” Aslı Boduroğlu has told Hürriyet Daily News. Boduroğlu, together with two partners, Ali Kerem Bilge and İdil Berkant Bilge, has collaborated with curator Derya Yücel to establish BASE. They want to help young artists and be the first space to exhibit their works. 

This year the BASE artist platform will gather 94 newly graduated artists from 20 cities and 30 universities between Dec. 20 and 22. There will be more than 100 works from different media. 

Yücel started the exhibition with a question. This year all of the newly graduates share their works focusing on a question. 

According to Yücel, their concerns, creation process problems and thought processes have to be reflected on to works. That’s why she asks three main questions to establish the curatorial frame of the exhibition: Is this me? Do I have a home? Are my dreams real? 

Within one platform all works are in relation with each other and are trying to figure creating questions. The themes of the works are varying by social problems such as migration, belonging, urbanization and existence. 

Meanwhile, questions of existence gather around the “Is it me?” question. Part of the exhibition, made up of urbanization and migration themes, gathers around “Do I have a home?” question. On the other hand, there is a deep psychological focusing on oneself in the question “Are my dreams real part?” The aim is to transfer the creativity and dynamism of the works to the audiences. 

Each work has a relation to each other, according to Boduroğlu, and this is the strongest part of the exhibition. Viewers will also have the privilege to observe how works are in relation to each other. 

In its second year, the aim of BASE is the same: To bring together newly graduate artists from all over Turkey under the roof of the Galata Greek School and open a new horizon for them to express themselves with their art. 

“This year the exhibition will be held from Dec. 20 to 23, and we want to be the artists’ first step to the art world. This is the place where they enter the world of art,” said Boduroğlu. According to Boduroğlu, this is an important and necessary attempt. 

“It is vital to help them as they enter this world. BASE is an attempt to open a new world in front of them,” she added. 

BASE Talks 

This year for the second time BASE Talks will host many people from the art world, said Boduroğlu. 

“Last year many people attended, and many artists listened to the seminar. This year once again we have prepared a wide-range of subjects with different people. There will be more than 30 panels with more than 50 people during the conferences,” she said. 

BASE Talks conferences will start at 11 a.m. and will continue until 7 p.m. Alican Leblebici, Alp Sime, Alper Aydın, Antonio Cosentino, Ardan Özmenoğlu, Aslı Işıksal, Ayşe Erkmen, Ayşe Umur and Balkan Naci İslimyeli are among the names who will be speaking at the conference.