For the Record

The public program under the title For the Record transports Barbare Studio’s production practice from the vineyards of Tekirdağ to Istanbul as a temporary station. The program aims to expand the space of encounter, make the research process more transparent, and involve the audience in the process. Marking the midpoint of Barbare Studio’s three-year curatorial research cycle, the program is presented through the curatorial vision of guest curator T. Melis Golar and the spatial design of architect Celine Topsakal. It creates an “in-between” space for thinking, sharing, and reorientation between two exhibitions taking place in Tekirdağ.

For the Record offers a perspective on Barbare Studio’s process-oriented and research-based mode of production. While creating a platform where the artists of the new edition can find inspiration, it also raises questions that shape the next stage of the curatorial program. Established as a space for critique, inquiry, discussion, and collective thinking, the platform also incorporates a project developed in collaboration with Odd Art Space, aimed at increasing visibility for young artists in Thrace and fostering connections among them.

Within the program, components include a research library, impressions and lessons drawn from the past, presentations of future curatorial directions, talks, music sessions, a selection of works and documents previously exhibited in Tekirdağ, and a podcast series. The library, which forms the backbone of Barbare Studio’s production process, comprises an ever-expanding archive of references, texts, and theories continuously developed by guest curators, visiting artists, and team members. Bringing together past and future collaborators, local producers from Tekirdağ, young artists, last year’s participants, and audiences, the program creates a space for sharing, encounter, exchange, and collective dialogue.

Within the scope of For the Record, Barbare Studio and Odd Art Space invited young artists aged 22–30 living and working in the Thrace region, as well as undergraduate and graduate students of fine arts faculties, to an open call titled “Gözgöründü.”

Following portfolio evaluations, the program aims to develop ways of working with various actors such as art institutions and art professionals, to strengthen networks of acquaintance, to foster dialogue, and to make young artists’ practices more visible.

In viticulture, the term “göz” refers to the bud of a vine during its awakening period. “Gözgöründü” describes the moment when these buds emerge and begin to sprout. Inspired by this concept, Barbare Studio and Odd Art Space come together to initiate a project that not only deepens young artists’ practices but also supports and expands processes of representation, presentation, networking, and preparation.

The selection committee of the program includes Y. Architect Celine Topsakal and curator T. Melis Golar from Barbare Studio; Kaan Sarı, Kardelen Semerci, and Furkan Öztekin from Odd Art Space; and Deniz Erbaş from Çanakkale Biennial Initiative (CABININ) and Mahal Art. At the end of the open call, the selected artists will be exhibited at Barın Han in Istanbul as part of the For the Record program.