Nesin Art Village (NAV) is an innovative art program that was launched in 2015 by the alternative education initiative developed at Nesin Mathematics Village (NMV). NMV is located at Şirince-İzmir and was established in 2007. NAV aims to maintain an approach that focuses on criticality and independent production processes. It offers a learning environment for young people from around Turkey, through workshops and seminars to be carried out by artists, academicians, writers, and curators.
Contemporary art in Turkey seems to have a relatively established structure now, complete with its institutions, spaces, and market. However, issues of art (and) education do not seem to raise much discussion or attract alternative undertakings. On the other hand, in terms of institutional curricula – mostly skill and craft-oriented, strictly compartmentalized – contemporary art practices and related discourses are kept out of the scope of educational interest. NAV can be considered as an attempt to provide a modest contribution towards an alternative platform to make up for such necessity with the help of the experience built up by NMV in years.
In 2015, as a pilot run, we limited NAV to a two-week intensive program. Since then we have been offering a number of programs throughout the year. We hope to carry this initial step into a sustainable, productive, and collective learning environment and possible further steps need to be imagined and designed collaboratively in terms of content, implementation and support.
If you would like to see more images of the village, please click on the Photo Gallery of the Nesin Villages, which consists of the Mathematics, Philosophy, and Art camps.
