"The Illustrators’ Platform First Group Exhibition" will welcome visitors from Dec. 21 to Jan. 3 at Barış Manço Cultural Center in the Kadıköy district of Istanbul.
The exhibition will be organized by the Illustrators’ Platform, a social enterprise project established to support the illustration industry. The event – which will be curated by Devrim Dinç İlkan, co-head of the Cartoons and Animation Department of Maltepe University’s Fine Arts Faculty, and Nurgül Şenefe, the founding president of the Illustrators’ Platform – will introduce current and aspiring illustrators to illustration enthusiasts.
The Illustrators’ Platform was recently established as a result of Illustrators’ Meeting's gatherings among illustrators across the country and determined its sphere of activity based on feedback it received from the artists. The platform’s group exhibition is aimed at raising awareness about illustrators and illustration, underlining that the importance of illustration as a branch of art and fostering unity between illustrators of every technique, style and experience.
Two weeks of workshops, events and interviews
In addition to the exhibition, side events will contribute information on a variety of subjects. As part of the events, Duru Ekşioğlu’s "Experimental Postcard Workshop with Watercolor," Esra İlter Demirbilek’s "Kadıköy in Your Dreams Collage Workshop," Sarp Süerdaş’s "Watercolor Bookmark Workshop," Nagihan Özkar’s "Christmas Pop-up Postcard Workshop," and Emine Kayalar’s "Watercolor Illustration Workshop" will offer participants experiences in the world of illustration.
The platform's event program will also feature the third installment of the talk series "Illustrators Making a Difference by Branch." Necmi Yalçın and Tarık Tolunay are among the speakers at the program, where master artists will share their stories of discovering their own styles, and their experiences and achievements in various areas and sectors related to illustration.
During the exhibition, artists from the platform will offer a wide variety of events, including workshops to autograph sessions, at the Barış Manço Cultural Center. The exhibition aims to expand job opportunities for the members of the platform by exhibiting their projects, in order to create an environment where they can present their portfolios to a broader audience and to create workshops to meet the copyrighting needs of the illustrators. A detailed schedule of the program is available on www.illustratorsplatform.net and on social media. All the events are free of charge.