The Istanbul Modern art gallery and museum is inviting children everywhere to join in on an innovative recycling project to mark April 23 National Sovereignty and Children's Day, a unique holiday launched a century ago to celebrate youngsters across the globe. The museum is asking children to design toys using disposable items, especially plastics, that can be found in their homes.

The event, titled "Friends of Recycling," is the perfect way to stimulate kids' creativity while stuck at home as part of isolation measures.

Istanbul Modern will this year celebrate its April 23 festivities from home, with the museum itself being temporarily closed. Its “Friends of Recycling” project allows children to create their own artworks with waste materials at homes with the help and encouragement of professional artists, all in the name of raising awareness about the importance of recycling – especially for plastic materials.

The project encourages children to recreate and produce creative works with recycling materials, just as artists do in their professions. It aims to convert many unused objects such as plastic bottles, straws and empty boxes into toys that they can play with at home.

As part of the project, Istanbul Modern will share activity ideas and short stories from the likes of Antonio Cosentino, İsmet Değirmenci, Nermin Er, Murat Germen, Seçkin Pirim and Ekin Saçlıoğlu – all via its social media accounts. The Istanbul Modern Education and Social Projects Department also offers event suggestions on the museum's website that can be made with various recycling materials.

The “Friends of Recycling” project will be available through April 30.

Inspired by 'Seventh Continent'

Istanbul Modern's previous exhibitions have drawn much attention to the relationship between humanity and nature, with the 16th Istanbul Biennial titled “Seventh Continent,” organized by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV) in 2019, counted as one of many sources of inspiration for its latest children's project. Kids will be encouraged to share photos of their recycled creations on social media using the hashtag #sanatasarıl (#embraceart). In addition, photos sent to Istanbul Modern will be published on the museum's website until May 18. Children involved in three different projects will also be eligible to receive the “Sanata Sarıl Certificate of Participation” online.