For some time now, I have been living in Kavakköy, a village in the Gelibolu district of Çanakkale. When making this decision, my aim was not to completely withdraw from the city, but to see how art resonates outside major urban centers. In Turkey, art production often takes place in large cities and within specific venues. Villages, on the other hand, are frequently left outside these spaces of production. I wanted to reduce this distance, even if only slightly.
After settling in the village, the first thing I did was to observe the surrounding walls and public spaces. Over time, I began painting some of these walls. They did not belong to a gallery; they were ordinary village walls that everyone passed by every day. Yet once painted, these walls began to transform into part of the village’s visual memory.
During this process, I also began working with the children living in the village. On certain days of the week, I organize painting and art workshops with them. These workshops are not structured as formal courses; rather, they are gatherings based on creating, experimenting, and imagining together. I believe it is important for children to encounter art at an early age, because art often remains a field that is accessible only in cities.
The aim of these works I carry out in the village is not so much to produce large-scale projects, but to show that art can be a part of everyday life. A mural, a small drawing, or a workshop held with children—each of these can leave a small yet lasting impact in the place where it exists.
In the long term, I hope these efforts will serve as small examples demonstrating that art production is possible in villages. Because I believe that art can exist not only in galleries or museums, but anywhere people live.
I started the “Man with the Banner” project in 2015. When initiating this project, my main motivation was my belief in the power of the streets. Streets are not merely places where people walk by; they are also public spaces where thoughts, objections, and emotions can become visible. In many moments when I felt that what we wanted to say was not being heard, I searched for a way to carry these thoughts into the streets. As a result of this search, “The Man with the Banner” emerged.
The starting point of the project was quite simple: to bring the words people wanted to express into the streets through a character carrying small banners. Over time, this character came to be known as the “Man with the Banner.” Produced in sticker form, these small figures were placed in different parts of cities and began conveying short yet powerful messages to those who encountered them.
Since the project began, it has continued to grow. To date, more than 500 stickers have been placed in the streets. The sentences featured on the banners have sometimes come from my own thoughts, and at other times from words shared by others. From time to time, I asked people on social media, “Is there something you would like to say?” and added their responses to the banners. In this way, the project moved beyond being solely an individual production and transformed into a collective space of expression that included the voices of different people.
For me, “The Man with the Banner” is not just a series of stickers; it represents one of the small yet powerful ways of speaking out in public space. A sentence unexpectedly encountered by someone walking down the street can sometimes make them think, sometimes make them smile, or sometimes remind them of a question within themselves. The project’s aim was precisely to make these brief encounters possible.
The project is still ongoing. From time to time, new stickers are produced, new sentences are added, and the Man with the Banner reappears in different cities. Each new placement means a small message left in public space and the possibility of a new encounter.
Style of Anatolia Graffiti Fest is an independent graffiti festival that aims to bring together artists from different cities and countries to create lasting works in public space. Its first edition was held in 2025 in Batıkent, Ankara. The festival seeks to produce works that will remain in public space for a long time and to encourage artists to create together.
It was held in 2025 around the Batıkent Metro line.
The works were created in an area with heavy pedestrian traffic between the metro stations.
20 artists, 4 different countries, 6 cities.
