12 Jun MATCH Project Study Visit in İzmir
Hosted by local partner K2 Contemporary Art Association in İzmir on May 7th and 8th, 2026, the “Mediterranean as the Climate Hotspot” (MATCH) Study Visit, brought 8 partner representatives and 9 artists of the project together with cultural institutions, artists, NGO’s and municipalities in the city, tackling with climate adaptation.
The visit kicked off with a tour of K2 Urla Breathing Zone (K2UBZ), followed by a presentation of K2. Institut-français İzmir presented the “Deniz Villaları” project, while Goethe-Institut İzmir presented their “Water Days” and “Sonic Resilience” projects. Scuba diver/ designer Nermin Sena Özger presented her interdisciplinary works. After a guided tour of the Urla Köstem Olive Oil Museum; Zeytince Association for Supporting Ecological Living, Building Biology and Ecology Institute Türkiye and Buğday Association presented their works.
A peer sharing circle and discussions with artists were led by D6. Artists Hannah Taylor & Nafsika Hadjichristou shared their experience at La Escocesa, while Maya Aghniadis (Flugen) & Joana Amora presented their works that just began in their residency at K2UBZ.
Site visits were made to the Darağaç Collective, and to Doğanlar Urban Garden -the biggest of its kind in Türkiye- hosted by the Mayor of Bornova Municipality. A presentation was made by the Climate Change & Clean Energy Directorate of İzmir Metropolitan Municipality at BAYETAV Art, where the participants also learned about past exhibitions at the space related to ecology and had a guided tour of the “Flamingo Line” exhibition.
Co-funded by the Creative Europe Program of the European Union, MATCH connects artists to community gardens as a response to the climate crisis in five Mediterranean cities: Athens, Nicosia, Marseille, Barcelona and İzmir. The 30-month long project aims at fostering social awareness and engagement through arts practices in community gardens by demonstrating alternative practices which contribute to mitigation, by promoting supportive, self-sufficient, and community-based ways of life, by developing a new set of ethics, and by disseminating knowledge of adaptation specific to the Mediterranean climate and cultures.
The project’s partners are five cultural organizations based in the Mediterranean: Mapa das Ideias (PT), D6:EU (CY), La Friche la Belle de Mai (FR), BJCEM (BE) and the National Technical University of Athens (GR), each of them working in collaboration with local arts and community garden partners: La Escocesa (ES), K2 Contemporary Art Center (TR), Gardens of the Future (CY), Delta Pi (GR) and Duncan Dance Research Centre (GR).
