The exhibition MAYA brings together works produced in Mardin as part of an Artist-in-Residence Program, making visible a creative collaboration rooted in the city’s memory; we spoke with curator Ebru Nalan Sülün and participating artists about this process.
Born from the productions of the Artist-in-Residence Program carried out through a collaboration between Bor Sanat and EXIT, under the advisory of Beral Madra, Ebru Nalan Sülün, and Missem Hancan, the MAYA exhibition reveals a multilayered process intertwined with Mardin’s cultural memory. In this program, which unfolded over four terms, Ahmet Öktem & Mehmet Akan, Fulya Çetin & Sidar Alışık, Serhat Kiraz & Ayşe Ceren Solmaz, and Handan Börüteçene & Rıdvan Aşar came together to create works nourished by the city’s texture, its memory, and the power of collective production.
We spoke with the exhibition’s curator, Ebru Nalan Sülün, about the conceptual framework of MAYA, the strong bond established with Mardin’s architecture and identity, and the interactions that took shape during the artists’ production processes. Afterwards, we asked the mentor artists and young practitioners what mark this encounter left on them.
Ebru Nalan Sülün: “Collective Production Is What We Need Most”
Before discussing the exhibition, we are curious about how this edition took shape. What criteria guided you in selecting participants? Considering the balance you established between local and guest artists, and the program’s structure based on a master–apprentice relationship, what need do you think this model addresses in today’s contemporary art scene?
First, it may be necessary to touch upon how the names included in the year-long “Artist-in-Residence Program”, the process that culminated in this exhibition where the potential of producing together became visible, were selected. At the core of the exhibition lies the practice of presenting the production experiences and outcomes of eight artists with different artistic approaches, generations, and levels of experience to the audience. I should note that I approached the curatorial framework with a reflex of “storytelling,” constructing the exhibition around this narrative structure.
Among the criteria for selecting the four mentor artists were having national and international experience, mastery of various artistic practices, previous involvement in artist groups and collectives, and the ability to transfer these experiences to younger artists. As for the artists chosen from Mardin, their names were determined through portfolio evaluations conducted by the advisory board, which included Beral Madra and Missem Hancan. The other four artists selected based on their portfolios were chosen for both their artistic capabilities and the potential for these capabilities to develop through collaboration with more experienced artists.
I find it crucial that this production model becomes more widespread across different projects. Especially when we consider that since the 1960s, and even more so today, the respect for experience and the importance of artistic mentorship have largely been replaced by tendencies toward individualization and popularization in art production. This project has made visible dialogue, the dynamics of producing together, and the sharing that emerges when artists from different cultures and generations collaborate, perhaps the very thing we need most right now.
The MAYA exhibition takes shape as a reflection of a four-phase collective production process. As you brought together the works of artists with different backgrounds and modes of expression, what kind of narrative did you intend to construct curatorially? Where does the idea of the “transformation of the essence/core” stand within this structure?
To be “maya-lanmak,” to ferment, in other words: to make visible the transformation of an essence/core that emerges through shared thinking and collective reasoning processes, along with the interactions this transformation generates. This idea is embedded in both the Artist-in-Residence Program and the narrative of the exhibition itself. As I mentioned earlier, the exhibition presents four distinct stories—four proximities, four artistic production practices. These stories not only reflect experiences lived side by side, but also contain the artists’ own narratives of transformation.
For this reason, the exhibition’s narrative structure focuses closely on the processes themselves. The layered answers given by all participating artists to the question I posed“What essence emerged in you during this one-month experience?” are presented to viewers within the exhibition, serving as a significant document of these stories’ outcomes. Moreover, the fact that I present the activities carried out during these phases, particularly those by Fulya Çetin and Sidar Alışık, through videos and production evidence also illustrates how strongly I value process-based storytelling.
MAYA appears not only as a project shaped by its artists, but also as one in which the city itself becomes an active component. In a historically and culturally layered city like Mardin, what kind of meaning does this contemporary art production model gain? What does this dialogue with the city represent for you?
The works featured in the MAYA exhibition drew inspiration from the city’s culture, its history, and from the collective dialogue and lived experiences of artists who either have personal memories of Mardin or encountered it for the first time. The architectural structure and memory of the exhibition space establish a parallel relationship with the identity of the city, which in turn strengthens the bond formed not only with the city itself but also with the viewers and the exhibition venue.
Additionally, throughout this project, I believe the visits made by all participating artists to independent ateliers in the city, their conversations on contemporary art and culture, the dynamics they observed, and their connections with the fine arts high school and faculty—and the dialogues established with students—held a transformative power. This model only gains meaning in this way and leads to the city’s transformation into a collective site of production. Of course, such a model could be implemented in another city; however, meaningful and lasting effects—true processes of fermentation—can only take place when it engages with that city’s culture, history, artistic dynamics, social fabric, and other artists.
The MAYA exhibition can be viewed in Mardin until January 16, 2026.
Under the Guidance of an Experienced Artist
Mehmet Akan, Sidar Alışık, Ayşe Ceren Solmaz, Rıdvan Aşar
How was it to shape your own artistic practice in a city like Mardin under the guidance of an experienced artist? How did this collaboration influence your artistic approach or perspective?
Mehmet Akan: My artistic practice is in a constant state of transformation and inquiry. Producing work in a city as historically and culturally layered as Mardin enabled me to engage with the memory of the place and navigate a balance between my inner world and the surrounding environment. Working under the guidance of an experienced artist significantly influenced both my mode of production and the conceptual framework of my work.
Until now, I primarily focused on oil paintings on canvas. However, this process clearly demonstrated that art is not confined to the canvas alone. I experienced how different materials, forms, and techniques can deepen artistic expression. Witnessing how art can be enriched through this diversity of material relationships was truly inspiring for me.
Meeting Ahmet Öktem was a transformative encounter. His perspective on art, his process-oriented approach, and the meanings he ascribes to figures led me to reevaluate my own work. As a result of this interaction, I observed shifts in my compositions and my understanding of the figure; my figures became more dynamic, more expressive, and emotionally more intense.
This experience transformed my artistic practice not only formally but intellectually as well. I can now approach my work from a broader perspective, establishing transitions between different disciplines. The time I spent in Mardin opened a new space for me both artistically and personally. Moving forward, I intend to carry traces of this experience into my future work and continue to view art as a multifaceted arena for research and expression.
Sidar Alışık: Working in this city, where I have lived for many years and whose spatial textures have shaped my practice, has often been a transformative experience. Encountering Fulya Hoca through the guest artist program and spending a month together carried the unique impact of every encounter. Living in the historical area where the EXIT building is located meant passing through the same streets countless times, seeing the same faces and places over and over again. Yet this time, walking through those same streets through Fulya Hoca’s gaze—through the eyes of someone newly arriving in the city—invited me to pause and look again at details I had grown accustomed to, perhaps even blind to. Seeing the city through her eyes transformed my own gaze; it filled the rhythm of my steps, the direction of my thoughts, and the pages of my notebook with new curiosities and heightened awareness.
Ayşe Ceren Solmaz: Working together with Serhat Kiraz in Mardin added a new depth to my practice, both intellectually and formally. His research-driven and conceptual approach transformed my perspective as well. The work we produced was site-specific, engaging directly with the architecture and atmosphere of the space. This experience compelled me to reconsider how I approach both space and material in my artistic production.
Rıdvan Aşar: We underwent a six-month studio period that my teacher Handan referred to as a “creative process.” This process began the very first day she arrived in Mardin. Throughout the entire period, we engaged with the idea of what makes an artwork an artwork, beyond simply making paintings—a process that was both enjoyable and thought-provoking. Her interventions, especially at moments when I struggled to see clearly, played a crucial role in the emergence of the work and strengthened our journey together. Regarding the question of perspective, I must add this: we continually returned to the idea that art possesses a power that heals the artist. This remained at the center of our focus throughout, and ultimately shaped the work we produced. As Konstantinos Kavafis—our companion throughout this process—put it, “standing on the threshold” became one of the most meaningful elements of our shared journey.
Working with a Young Artist…
Ahmet Öktem, Fulya Çetin, Serhat Kiraz, Handan Börüteçene
How was it for you to share a production process with a young artist in a city like Mardin, which carries such a strong local context? How did this experience influence an artistic practice shaped over many years?
Ahmet Öktem: One could say that sharing the production process with a young artist presents its own challenges. In my case, having a background in painting made things considerably easier. After agreeing on the general framework of the work, I completed what was on my path, and Mehmet Akan carried out his part. To be honest, we didn’t even discuss local contexts. Whether such practices will alter our trajectories, including M. Akan’s, I cannot say; time is usually the one that resolves such questions.
Fulya Çetin: I had visited Mardin before, but it was my first time spending an entire month there. I met Sidar for the first time during the program; thinking, walking, and producing together with someone you don’t know in a city you are not fully familiar with was a transformative experience for me. Sidar revisited familiar places through my eyes, and I rediscovered Mardin through his. As we walked through the city, we visited many artist studios, invited other artists, and created shared spaces of production, collective thinking, and ideas. This process allowed me to re-experience my dialogue-based approach to production within the context of Mardin. In a way, I opened a door into my world, he opened one into his, and together we brought two different worlds into a shared, mutually nourishing creative space.
Serhat Kiraz: I joined Mardin upon the invitation of Exit Collective and Bor Sanat, as planned, to work collaboratively. I met the young artist Ceren Solmaz and other members of Exit. With the participation of Mehmet Çimen and Hesen Chalak, we wandered through Mardin, discussing what, where, and how we might produce something. Ultimately, we used a non-art local space and transformed it into a viewing area by employing objects that surrounded us—objects without artistic value—as materials. A map showing Mardin’s underground waters, the wells connected to them, and the fountains fed by those wells became the conceptual core of the work. The intention was to draw attention to the fact that for the visible façade of a city like Mardin to exist, the invisible must also be acknowledged. Our work developed along this line and concluded as you have seen. I hope that sharing this approach—one that has shaped my own practice over the years—and benefiting from the dynamic perspectives of young artists will contribute to the transformation and development of today’s contemporary art environment.
Handan Börüteçene: First of all, I was not there to work with the city of Mardin, but to collaborate with a young artist from Mardin. If we are to speak of geography, then I worked within the geography of Rıdvan Aşar in every sense. In truth, it was a mutual exchange; we moved forward together, and once we arrived where we needed to be, the work stood before us.
