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The Çekirdek Eskişehir project, implemented in partnership with the Puruli Culture and Arts Association and the Eskişehir Metropolitan Municipality, aims to repurpose an idle municipality-owned building into a multidisciplinary venue accessible to everyone. The project will be carried out in cooperation with local and national cultural and artistic actors, with the goal of redesigning and revitalising this vacant building.
The project will involve meetings with participant institutions, workshops, and expert interviews to shape the transformation process. The data obtained will be used to create a Reutilisation Project Design for the building’s reuse. This design process aims to establish an international standard example that will guide cultural professionals in encouraging cultural participation, enriching the culture and arts sector, and making this new space accessible to disadvantaged groups. The Çekirdek Eskişehir project will include training programmes and projects suitable for the venue, designed in collaboration with various participants operating in the city.
The project aims to provide Eskişehir with a space that complies with user-friendly, inclusive, and accessible design principles for everyone. The designed building also aims to provide employment opportunities for disabled individuals. Besides the physical transformation of the space, the project aims to create a social impact by involving all stakeholders, including local and national arts organisations, artists, disabled rights activists, and potential users. The goal is to offer a feasible model that can set an example for other cities.
The Çekirdek Eskişehir project promises to usher in a new era for culture and arts in the city through its innovative approach, which aims to add synergy and diversity to Eskişehir’s cultural life.
Initially, the venue in Kentpark will be evaluated by project partners and institutions carrying out similar projects. This exploration will include an assessment of the venue and a needs analysis for the scale of Eskişehir. The project team, consultants, and representatives from local authorities will participate in this analysis.
The physical and structural design of the space, as well as the organizational structure and culture and arts program of the center, will be decided through participatory methods within the scope of the project activities. Puruli Culture and Arts Association, Urban.koop, local authority representatives, and local actors in Eskişehir (NGOs representing culturally disadvantaged groups and actors operating in the field of culture and arts) will participate in this process. As a result of visits to the venue in the first two months, issues with the building will be addressed, and the minimum needs of the project team and stakeholders will be met.
Project stakeholders and local and national actors in the field of culture and arts will work together to understand the user-friendliness of the space. In the 11th month of the project, an evaluation meeting of the entire process will be held, and the final concept for the project design will be determined.
At the end of the project, an event will be held in the transformed space to highlight the goals, activities, and important stages of the project. Additionally, a documentary film describing the project process will be produced, and local and national stakeholders will be informed about the project. The social impact management framework of the venue will be created through the analysis of all activities.
Puruli Culture and Arts Association was established in 2014 to ensure the participation of all individuals from all walks of life in social, artistic, and cultural activities. The association aims to support the active participation of disadvantaged groups in cultural life and to encourage their integration into society. Founded by professionals experienced in communication, design, culture, and art, Puruli organises various events to ensure equality in accessing cultural and artistic life for everyone. These events include film festivals, cinema screenings, workshops, and rights advocacy projects. The association also regularly organises the Accessible Film Festival, which collaborates with more than 20 institutions such as such as Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival, Adana Golden Boll Film Festival, Malatya Film Festival, Zeugma Film Festival, Koç University, Muğla Municipality to provide accessible screenings.
Puruli is a founding member of the Kültüre Erişim Platformu (Cultural Access Platform) and of the BE IN! Network of Accessible Festivals. This network includes festivals held in Germany, Belgium, England, Spain and Poland and brings together NGOs, cinema professionals and policy makers working on accessibility to cinema in Türkiye and Europe. The goal of the network is to identify the obstacles that disabled individuals encounter in accessing cinema and to come up with solutions for them.
Eskişehir Metropolitan Municipality has been a collaborator of the Accessible Films Festival since 2017, contributing to every stage of the project through the Social Services Department.
Urban.koop
Urban.koop is a collective operating in a wide range of urban components, conducting research, academic studies, and publications on urban components. The collective offers planning and architectural suggestions at different scales, prepares urban and cultural guides with various themes, organises workshops focused on social benefit, manages multi-stakeholder and interdisciplinary participatory projects, develops cultural and artistic practices, and discusses innovative ideas in these fields. Urban.koop will play an active role in the fieldwork and reutilisation project, contributing to discussions on how the venue will be physically and culturally integrated with other components of Eskişehir.
IstasyonTEDU Social Innovation Centre
IstasyonTEDU is a multifunctional co-production space that brings together actors committed to developing a social innovation and social entrepreneurship ecosystem. The centre will lead community building efforts within the scope of the fieldwork, aiming to build an effective community in the field of social innovation and entrepreneurship and increase cooperation and interaction among actors operating in this field.
https://www.istasyon.tedu.edu.tr/
Impact Hub Ankara
Impact Hub Ankara works in the field of social entrepreneurship and social innovation, focusing on ecosystem and community development activities. In addition to providing space-based facilities such as co-working spaces, event and meeting rooms, the organisation carries out social entrepreneurship and social innovation support programmes, research and capacity-building projects, as well as training and consultancy activities. Impact Hub Ankara will play a key role in creating the Social Impact Management Framework of the Çekirdek Eskişehir Project, ensuring the management and measurement of the social impact achieved.
The International Eskişehir Culture and Art Space
The International Eskişehir Culture and Art Space hosts the Wholesale Buildings Youth Center, created through the restoration of the historical Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Wholesale Market Building in Eskişehir. It will host its first meeting within the scope of the work to determine and understand user needs.
Gökkuşağı Cafe (Rainbow Cafe)
Gökkuşağı Cafe aims to integrate mentally disabled individuals into society by enabling their involvement in artistic activities held in different disciplines. Some of its employees are disabled individuals. The cafe will host the second meeting within the scope of determining and understanding user needs.
https://www.tepebasi.bel.tr/Projedetay.asp?hid=112
Opus XI
Opus XI is an independent initiative founded by people working in the fields of art, design, and thought in Eskişehir, contributing to the project in reaching out to local stakeholders.
Katadrom Art
Katadrom Art aims to activate cultural interaction and cohesion, contributing to the project in reaching out to local stakeholders. The institution has experience in venue design and municipal cooperation, which will be useful for Çekirdek Eskişehir.
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