“KORUNAK 4” EXHIBITION MET WITH ITS AUDIENCE AT GALERİ BEYLİKDÜZÜ

The “Korunak 4” exhibition, which reflects the 30-year art education approach of ders BELGELİĞİ, continuing its work within Marmara University Atatürk Faculty of Education, Department of Fine Arts Education, Art and Crafts Education Major, opened to visitors at Galeri Beylikdüzü on January 10, 2026.

KORUNAK 4 stands out as the first exhibition that makes the educational route followed by the students during the studio process in ders BELGELİĞİ visible. The exhibition presents the stages and formal development of the process in a holistic manner. The studio process is based on a progressive learning system that starts with copy works and extends to live models, self-portraits, object-space, collage, and concept-form experiments. This approach aims for the student to develop not only as a producer but also as a thinking and questioning subject.

In ders BELGELİĞİ, learning is designed as a mutual interaction between the teacher and the student. This experience-based structure transforms art education into a life practice and creates an interdisciplinary production environment that relates to different fields.

Following the tour, visitors had the opportunity to closely examine the works reflecting the educational process and artistic productions of the studio.

The opening program of the exhibition started with speeches made by local government representatives and graduates of ders BELGELİĞİ. In the continuation of the program, an exhibition tour was organized under the guidance of Engin Özakçil, one of the studio graduates. Following the tour, visitors had the opportunity to closely examine the works in the exhibition.

During the time it remained open to visitors, the exhibition hosted more than 1200 viewers. In this process, under the umbrella of “Galeri Beylikdüzü Art Gatherings”, graduates and volunteers of ders BELGELİĞİ came together with the audience. Within this scope, events discussing art from philosophical, psychological, and technical perspectives were held;

“Motifs in Opera and Painting” Talk

The talk held at Galeri Beylikdüzü on February 18, 2026, within the scope of KORUNAK 4, took place with the participation of musicologist Ece Demirel and the students of Aşık Veysel Fine Arts High School.

The talk started with Ece Demirel’s explanation of the concept of motif in opera throughout history. The function of motifs in opera characters was demonstrated with examples, and musical recitals from selected opera pieces were presented. Later, Zeynep İdil Özmen, a 4th-year student of ders BELGELİĞİ, discussed the concept of motif in painting. The relationships between the motif in painting and music were examined.

In this event, which took place within the scope of Galeri Beylikdüzü Art Gatherings, Ece Demirel and Zeynep İdil Özmen were thanked for their valuable contributions bringing together different disciplines of art. Furthermore, thanks were also extended to the artist friends, art lovers, and the students and teachers of Aşık Veysel Fine Arts High School who enriched this environment of sharing by participating in the event.

“The Aesthetics of Coincidence: Dada and Collage” Workshop

On February 21, 2026, ders BELGELİĞİ graduate Feride Hacıbektaşoğlu Keleş offered a practical experience to the participants by organizing a workshop titled “The Aesthetics of Coincidence: Dada and Collage,” inspired by Raoul Hausmann’s works reflecting the spirit of the time.

Within the scope of the workshop, the emergence conditions of Dadaism and the rupture it created in art history were discussed; the relationship established by the approach questioning rationalism and aesthetic norms with the concepts of coincidence, intuition, and fragmentation was conveyed within a theoretical framework. The historical development of collage and its place within art practice were evaluated; it was emphasized that the processes of cutting, assembling, and reconstructing are as much an intellectual form of production as they are technical.

During the workshop, contemplation practices on the relationship between control and coincidence were developed; it was observed how the possibilities of individual expression could be expanded through fragmentation and reconstruction. The reproducible structure of art through coincidence, intuition, and intervention was materialized.

A Glance at ders BELGELİĞİ

On February 25, 2026, moderated by ders BELGELİĞİ student Hatice Bayram, a talk was held with art critic and academician Assoc. Prof. Dr. Lütfiye Bozdağ on the formation of ders BELGELİĞİ.

Founded by H. Avni Öztopçu, this formation was defined as a documentation-based pedagogy that spans a period of nearly thirty years, adopts a collective memory and a horizontal learning model, diverges from classical education models, rejects hierarchy, and places criticism at the center of production. Bozdağ talked about its interdisciplinary branches, symbolically awarded competitions, international exhibitions, and the Belgelik Museum project planned in Erzincan; emphasizing that the ders BELGELİĞİ formation was deemed worthy of the İsmail Hakkı Tonguç Belgeliği Foundation Educational Practices Award in 2025, she described it as a “self-renewing, living ecosystem.”

Thanks were extended to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Lütfiye Bozdağ, who shared the thirty-year accumulation of ders BELGELİĞİ with the participants and brought this valuable formation to the present, and to Hatice Bayram, who undertook the moderation of the talk, for their contributions and valuable narrations.

KORUNAK 4 Exhibition Tour with Selin Yağmur Sönmez

On March 17, 2026, an informative exhibition tour centering on the ders BELGELİĞİ educational process was conducted by artist and curator Selin Yağmur Sönmez, a graduate of ders BELGELİĞİ.

During the “KORUNAK 4” exhibition tour accompanied by Selin Yağmur Sönmez, the production approach and working culture of the ders BELGELİĞİ studio were conveyed. The exhibition, designed in a “time tunnel” atmosphere, brought the technical and mental development of an artist candidate during their student years together with the audience.

Within the scope of the exhibition tour, starting from the basic stages of education, how the forms of observation, perception, and thinking develop; how the perspective expands, and how fiction and experimentation processes are included in the production were explained step by step. The processes of disciplinary rules transforming into an individual language of expression over time were shared through different production examples. In addition, the relationships ders BELGELİĞİ established with different disciplines were emphasized during the exhibition tour. In this respect, the studio practice was addressed as a continuously transforming and developing production process that goes beyond merely being an educational environment.

The concept of “korunak” (shelter), located at the center of the exhibition, was handled as a space where the works produced during the studio process are preserved. In this context, it was emphasized that the archived works were moved out of the studio to meet the audience, and education gained meaning through this encounter.

The Psychological Dimension of Art from Past to Present

In this talk conducted on March 17, 2026, by ders BELGELİĞİ graduates and students Hatice Bayram, Zülal Dicle Cengiz, and Hayat Sena Özhan, the intersection points of the theoretical structure of art and human psychology were discussed.

At the focal point of the talk, it was emphasized that art is not merely a search for form; on the contrary, it is an effort by the artist to make sense of both the society they live in and the chaos in their own inner world. By referring to the approaches of prominent psychologists and theorists in art history, the effects of the relationship established with an artwork on the viewer and the artist were evaluated.

The event, held in collaboration with studio graduates and students, created a mutual learning and sharing space for both the listeners and the speakers.

“Korunak” Performance and “Flexible Space in ders BELGELİĞİ” Talk

On April 5, 2026, following the ‘Korunak’ performance exhibited by Necva Gönül; ders BELGELİĞİ graduate artist Necva Gönül and curator Selin Yağmur Sönmez held a talk on the ‘Flexible Space,’ discussing the experimental side of ders BELGELİĞİ.

The performance taking place in the exhibition space made the viewer an active part of the process with a participatory approach. In the performance, the concept of “korunak” was handled as an intellectual incubation space that matures the raw potential of life. Artist Necva Gönül designed the shelter not as a possessive state of fixation, but as a dynamic space that enables potential to open up to its own possibilities and gain meaning in the relationship established with the other.

This relational contact removed the shelter from being a spatial boundary and transformed it into a collective ground where life is experienced as an intellectual power that intensifies as it is shared.

In the talk held following this performance, curator Selin Yağmur Sönmez and artist Necva Gönül made evaluations on the production forms of the exhibition and the interaction established with the audience.

The concept of “korunak” was also discussed from different aspects during the talk. It was emphasized that ders BELGELİĞİ is a structure that goes beyond traditional painting practice, opening up space for individual expression pursuits with its flexible structure and experimental side. The event was shaped by the questions and comments of the participants, turning into a collective thinking and sharing environment.

Furthermore, in this talk; how performance art opens a space within the flexible structure of ders BELGELİĞİ and artist Necva Gönül’s experience of leaning towards performance art from the educational process were discussed. This session, in which we also found answers to the participants’ questions, was completed as a process where individual expression pursuits transformed into a collective sharing ground.

The KORUNAK 4 exhibition was a multifaceted interaction area where productions and sharing came together as long as it remained open. The talks, workshops, and gatherings held during the exhibition process made the production understanding of the ders BELGELİĞİ studio visible for both participants and viewers.

The fact that the events were conducted by graduates, volunteer students, and department instructors reinforced the continuity of this structure while also revealing its sharing-oriented nature.

KORUNAK 4 completed the accumulated structure of the ders BELGELİĞİ studio by expanding it with new participations. Thanks are extended to Beylikdüzü Municipality, Galeri Beylikdüzü, and all participants who contributed to the realization of the exhibition.