-ARTOPIA-
ARTS FOR GLOBAL GOOD
Artopia is a civil society platform founded by international emerging artists.
It aims to deliver goodness and benevolence to the children of disadvantaged regions in the world through arts.
The project name “Artopia” is inspired from British author and statesman of 16cc Thomas More’s “Utopia”. Utopia basically describes an ideal world where there is abundance of peace, harmony and friendship. Thomas More frequently underlines the main motive for this harmonious order is arts. Because people have quality leisure time and deal with arts and crafts in the meantime.
We, as Artopians, believe arts is a strong instrument that can heal a society, unite people from all walks of life and gives hope to them. As children in developing countries and disadvantaged regions are at our focus, we want to help them see “another world is possible.”
Artopia also seeks to develop and promote direct dialogues between the societies in Turkey and target countries with the artists, intellectuals, visual arts, literature and cultural operators. This dialogue will occur directly with the general public without any intermediaries.
Artopia's First Project
Gingerbread man cookie Installation
The idea of the cookie installation takes it references from the British author Jonathan Swifth`s same titled article.
“A Modest Proposal For preventing the Children of Poor People From being a Burden to Their Parents or Country, and For making them Beneficial to the Public” is a satirical essay written and published anonymously by Jonathan Swift in 1729 during the Potato Famine in Ireland. The essay suggests that the impoverished Irish might ease their economic troubles by selling their children as food for rich gentlemen and ladies. This satirical hyperbole mocked heartless attitudes towards the poor. The primary target of Swift's satire was the rationalism of modern economics and the growth of rationalistic modes of thinking in modern life at the expense of more traditional human values and virtues.
By the same token, humanity is having another crisis in Yemen where there is war and famine and the world is turning a blind eye to this catastrophic case. Thus, the installation simply and modestly propose the same suggestion to the world public opinion: Let`s eat Yemeni Kids before they lose all their flesh and remain skin and bones due to the war and famine in the country.
As artists, it is our social responsibility to attract World`s attention to this global crisis.
This will also lead to the introduction of a new perception and conceptualisation of art that we call “benevolent art”, which briefly believes the active intervention of art into global issues at a distance from politics.
Procedure:
1000 or more baby shape cookies will be installed in a public place.
The cookies will be painted by Yemeni kids during the art workshops in Yemen. They will both eat and paint the cookies, which will create ironical, shocking and outrageous scenes both for the documentary and the installations.
Supporters/Sponsorships:
Grenfell Community Kitchen women and Yunus Emre Institute trainee students helped the making process.
2nd Project :Documentary Movie
To Be a Child in the Forgotton Land
RATIONALE
The World is suffering from disasters, wars and chaos everywhere. On the other hand, there are people who are unaware of this catastrophic situations. As they do not know, they do not have an idea. As they do not have an idea, they do not act.
Documentary and journalism is one of the strongest means of making the voices heard and make those who are unaware of the people in need aware.
ARTOPIA:Art for Global Goodness Platform targets to document (shoot) all the procedure of the Yemen projects with the intention and aim of making the voice of Yemeni children heard.
OBJECTIVES:
A documentary movie will be made reflecting the situation of the Yemeni children.
There will be held art workshops in Nizip Refugee camp.
Syrian refugee children will do painting for their fellows in Yemen.
Painted cookies will be installed in the City Hall of London.
All the steps of painting workshop will also be photographed and be showcased in City Hall.
DOCUMENTARY SYNOPSIS
Title: “Yemen: To be a Child in the Forgotten Land”
Duration: 45 minutes
Location: Yemen-Turkey-England
Senior Producer: Dilek Yalçın
Camera: Serkan Gür
FLOW:
FOOTAGE: #10 YEARSCHALLENGE allegory (YEMEN before and after war—focus on children.. playing laughing, running around, going to school…Laughter stops and turns into silence with heart beats. Children at hospitals. Starving. Skin and bones)
INTERVIEW: a child tells how he is feeling and what he misses most
VOICE OVER(VO): Yemen, one of the Arab world's poorest countries, has been devastated by a civil war since 2015…Thousands of civilians have been killed since a coalition led by Saudi Arabia began bombing Yemen…Targeting schools, hospitals, residential lanes…
FOOTAGE:
VO: The roots of the Sunni-Shia division brought the country to a proxy war which is devastating humanity, a human heritage and the future: the children…
FOOTAGE:
A Saudi-Arabia led coalition that has received weapons and tactical assistance from the United States is fighting againest Houthis, a terrorist group reportedly supported by Iran.
FOOTAGE: (War, Bombings, leaders of these countries harshly talking somewhere)
VO: The United Nations recently called Yemen war “the largest humanitarian crisis” in the world.
War is bad for adults but it is worse for children.
FOOTAGE:
VO: War with starvation is the worst…
INTERVIEW: a kid tries to feel how it feels to be a child in a war- torn country
FOOTAGE : (Children from hospitals..with mothers..)
INTERVIEW: a mother
VO: The conflict has had devastating consequences for children in Yemen. There are shortages of food, medicine and vital supplies. 2.2 million children are malnourished many has died or in the blink of death.
PIECE TO CAMERA:
THE CHILDREN IN THE FORGOTTEN LAND, YEMEN HAVE ALREADY LOST THE GAME.
HOWEVER, THOSE WHO ARE SUPPOSEDLY WILL BE RECORDED AS THE WINNERS OF THIS WAR SHOULD HAVE THIS QUOTE FROM THOMAS MORE’S UTOPIA:
“THERE IS NOTHING MORE INGLORIOUS THAN THAT GLORY GAINED BY WAR ”
Children understand each other..Children help each other…
Syrian refugee children in Turkey’s Nizip doing painting for their friends in Yemen…
FOOTAGE: Art workshop
Interviews with children.
Footage: Sunset in Nizip…
One more day is ending at the camp…
Footage: Children close ups
One more day is ending in Yemen…
Footage: Yemeni kids close ups
But the war on Earth…
Will it ever end?…
Footage: A child closing eyes…
Art Workshop with Yemeni Children in London 1
Art Workshop with Yemeni Children in London 2
Cookie making for Art Installation
