ABOUT
Balconnection is a movement for placing artworks of the artists without prioritizing them by popularity to the places prioritizing where there is not much demand / supply for art and facilitating the artist and the public meet and start a dialogue with each other.
Balconnection is neutral to genres and trends; so it is not an art movement, but a movement for art.
Balconnection believes art is a necessity and the society included in the art dialogue is crucial both for art and society.
The concept of Balconnection born with a personal art project done in 2016. It was such an intense experience, we wished every artist to have a smilier experience.
The freedom of the private space and having direct access to public at the same time was the core idea when we first presented our concept with its logo and a brief explanation to our friends in İzmir Selçuk in June 2019.
Later in the autumn, we presented the project in the meetings of İKSV (Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts), Spaces of Culture and cultural organizations of many countries.
In February 2020 we applied Spaces of Culture and recieved their support. During the period of Novel Covid-19 pandemic, we updated our operation plan, staying true to the original intention.
ABOUT?
Balconnection is an initiative for art to be seen directly by the public and aims to establish a direct dialogue between artist and the community. We believe that art is a necessity, not a luxury, it should be accessible for everyone, and that it should penetrate into everyday life. Based on this belief, we use the balconies, which we describe as private spaces that are visible to the public.
We intent:
1) to make the world a bit more livable place with artists, art lovers and the society we live in,
2) to produce a flexible and sustainable model, based on collective mind, that will allow art to meet the public directly,
3) to create space for artists from different cities and countries, from different disciplines; to facilitate the participation of artists who join our network to communicate and produce with each other,
4) to build communication bridges to help different cultures understand each other better,
5) to create curiosity and interest in contemporary art in the society, thus creating a ground for individuals of all ages and from all sectors of society to think about, discuss, and participate in art,
6) to encourage locally active artists to meet world artists and improve their horizons; enhancing local capacity and elevating the local to universal,
7) to create an opportunity for the artist to exhibit their work without compromise.
WHY?
“Why would anyone need Balconnection while every artist with a balcony would already be able to show their works easily?”
Balconnection, which defines itself as “a local and international network,” or a “hub”, brings together the works of artists from different art circles, and helps them to reach the public. Documentation of the works and performances exhibited on the balconies are archived after they are shared on social media, and anyone interested in the subject can easily access this online archive. The archive, which includes artist talks, performances and visual documents of works, gains visibility to the public thanks to Balconnection’s partners, supporters and followers.
Balconnection prioritizes the artist’s voice and message. The works and visual documentation of these works are displayed alternately on balconies in different cities. Accordingly, while the owners of balconies who do not produce art themselves experience the pleasure of opening space for artists, art institutions meet artists that they are not familiar with. The Balconnection network is expanding with the participation of initiatives and collectives from various cities and countries, and individuals exposed to art where they do not expect access to a chance to directly connect with the artist and the work through public speeches.
Unlike art galleries, which aim to achieve maximum profit, Balconnection prioritizes neighborhoods, districts, towns and provinces where art cannot easily reach, aiming to serve the contemporary and current, avoiding populist manipulations to please the public. Balconnection aims to support artists who have difficulty in finding expression and meeting with the audience locally.
For more information, please check our PDF...
BALCONNECTION PROJECT
2021
