Transcending Borders Through Art: Conversations on Migration and Solidarity

This initiative opens a new space for reflection by exploring migration through the lens of art. The series highlights how artistic practices intersect with migrant experiences, cultivate solidarity, and create imaginative possibilities for coexistence.

🎤 Highlights from the Series

1. From Other Stories to Rebloom: Art, Migration, and Solidarity

Political scientist Gülay Uğur Göksel reflects on her personal and institutional experiences at the intersection of art and migration. Drawing on the exhibition Other Stories (Bilgi University, 2021) and the journey leading to the Rebloom Festival, she explores how art generates new encounters, dialogues, and forms of solidarity between migrants and host societies. 🔗 Read more

2. In Search of Art, Migration, and Solidarity

Artist and curator Denizhan Özer, who has long worked between the UK and Turkey, shares his migration story and collaborations with migrant artists. He discusses how art builds bridges between communities and under which conditions genuine solidarity becomes possible, highlighting art as both aesthetic practice and transformative social memory. 🔗 Read more

3. Where Music Meets Migration

Ethnomusicologist Evrim Hikmet Öğüt examines migration through an ethnomusicological lens. Based on her long-term fieldwork with Iraqi and Syrian musicians, she explains how music reshapes visibility, solidarity networks, and everyday experiences of living together among migrant communities. 🔗 Read more

4. From I Am a Refugee, My Neighbor to Anadolu Kültür

Activist Beril Sönmez brings years of experience at the intersection of art, migration, and activism. From neighborhood-based solidarity networks like Mülteciyim Hemşerim to international projects at Anadolu Kültür, she discusses art as a constitutive force in social transformation, touching on inclusivity, multilingualism, and the visibility struggles of refugee artists. 🔗 Read more

5. Building Bridges: The Hubban Experience

Alp Arısoy from the Hubban Creative Migrant Network shares how creative practices strengthen interaction among diverse migrant communities. His experience highlights art as a channel for communication and mutual understanding across different groups. 🔗 Read more

6. Kırkayak Kültür: Weaving Solidarity in Gaziantep

Kemal Vural Tarlan, co-founder of Kırkayak Kültür, reflects on more than 15 years of cultural work in Gaziantep. From collaborations with Syrian artists to women’s choirs, children’s workshops, and youth programs, the organization has embraced art as a unifying force amid war, migration, and inequality. 🔗 Read more

Through these conversations, GAR and ERC SOLROUTES highlight how art transcends borders, reshaping solidarity and coexistence in times of migration. Each dialogue demonstrates that artistic practices are not only cultural expressions but also transformative tools for building inclusive societies.