Istanbul Modern offers 'Friends of Recycling' project on World Environment Day
Children are invited to redesign the "Ship Mandaliko" with Antonio Cosentino as part of the "Friends of Recycling" project in June.


Istanbul Modern invites all children to take part in its "Friends of Recycling" project on the occasion of World Environment Day on June 5.

The project was launched to raise children’s awareness of environmental problems and the increasing use of plastic in the pandemic process.

The museum presents an opportunity for the little ones to create their own artwork using discarded materials at home, under the guidance of artists.

On World Environment Day, the museum calls on children to design toy characters with unused objects, especially plastic materials found at home in the coronavirus days.

Istanbul Modern's previous exhibitions that focused on the relationship between humans and nature, as well as the 16th Istanbul Biennial titled "Seventh Continent" organized by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV) in 2019, are among the sources of inspiration for the project.

"Bicicik" and "Çıtçıt" designed by Ardan Özmenoğlu.
The project "Friends of Recycling," initiated to increase awareness about the increased use of plastics due to the COVID-19 outbreak, in particular, encourages children to produce artwork at home under the guidance of Koray Ariş, Antonio Cosentino, İsmet Değirmenci, Nermin Er, Murat Germen, Mustafa Horasan, Çağrı Küçüksayraç, Başar Muluk, Ardan Özmenoğlu, Burcu Perçin, Seçkin Pirim, Ekin Saçlıoğlu and the Istanbul Modern Education and Social Projects Department.

Children who want to join the event can use materials that usually end up in the trash, including plastic bottles, used straws, boxes, cardboard, nylon bags, empty shampoo bottles, gum or milk cartons, egg cartons, toilet paper or paper towel rolls. They can share the photos of their artwork on their social media accounts using the hashtags #istanbulmodernevde (meaning Istanbul Modern at home) and #sanatasarıl (meaning embrace art).

Children's awareness of nature and the environment expressed through their artwork can also be uploaded to the museum's web page. In fact, those who participate in three different projects of the museum, including "Friends of Recycling," are eligible to receive an official certificate of participation.