Studio 21
The importance of social activism in art is enormous. There is a real need to speak out directly through art to show the degenerated and forgotten areas that need to change. We can change our environment by gathering and empowering people. It has been a challenge for me to participate and provide this place to construct new cultural visions.
I see Yuka Blend Street Art Festival as a response of hope. As an artistic director of the festival, it was important to provide a necessary environment for the deliberation of artistic works of the participants. The festival is a very enthusiastic and awaited activity for not only the habitants of Nicosia but the whole of Cyprus as well. It makes people come together from both sides of the divide.
The founder of Studio 21cc Dervish G. Zeybek has been a magnet in attracting socially marginalized people and helping them find a voice. Besides organizing street art festivals, Studio 21 cc. also collaborates with many other artistic workshops in old city of Nicosia. In times of crisis unity and love are crucial to Cypriots.
By organizing street art festivals people get to face the reality of this social deterioration. It was clear that love was needed there. All of us went through a process while we were preparing for the festival. The organizers were trying to fix what was not working, plan for international and national participants, and adjust to the little budget that we had. This phase develops qualities of patience and determination. Then comes the next phase, often one of despair whether due to lack of resources or program changes, but at the same time, it is a preparation for a push. I have explained the process as being like a war strategy but it is really rather like a guerrilla attack. Similar to guerrillas who try to liberate neighborhoods and villages, we try with our paintings to liberate ourselves.
We trust our work even though we have had thousands of disappointments and problems. Our trust is not blind. It is a strong and vital trust that has given us the strength to see the ugliness of reality in order to transform its tremendously luminous possibility. It is an optimistic way to make fun of life and art. As Mujica says “ La vida es una guerrilla por la esperanza” (Life is a guerrilla for hope).1
Contributor: Asli Bolayir, May 2020
For more information:
https://www.facebook.com/YukaBlend/
https://www.facebook.com/studio21cc/
1 Part of speech by José Alberto “Pepe” Mujica Cordano, former president of Uruguay. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wV0SwP_n9y8
