HÜMA
ACADEMIC BACKGROUND
Istanbul University, enrolled in 2024, Arabic Language and Literature, Istanbul, Turkey.
Istanbul Social Sciences High School, graduated in 2022, Istanbul, Turkey:
I was in the debate club for a year and had the chance to be quarter finalist in a national rockies tournament.
I was, as well, accepted to the Sobil Academy’s Human Sciences workshops held by academicians from all around Turkey.
I attended 8 Model United Nations Conferences and was awarded with 5 awards in total.
Nesin Mathematics Village, Anthropology camp, 2023, Şirince, İzmir, Turkey ( accepted to the program with full-ride scholarship).
We discussed the fundamentals of anthropology during one week. As I learn more about how a pure race does not exist and race is used as a political tool, my horizon has expanded. During this week of learning and discussing a respectful manner, I learnt to listen and to empathize.
Arkhe Project, cinema 3.0: how to make cinema?, 2023, Şirince, İzmir, Turkey ( accepted to the program with full-ride scholarship).
During this one week, we learned about the nuances of the film industry in Turkey. It made me realize, even if it is hard, I really would like to be in that industry. Before this course I was skeptical about whether I would like to work there or not, this course cleared my head.
Pre-college, Academy of Art University, Graphic Design, 2020.
With this pre-college, I learnt about the fundamentals of graphic design by reading and watching the course materials and applying them through homeworks, I realized that graphic design is not my cup of tea.
İKSV Alt Kat “Stop-Motion Animation Workshop,” 2022 (accepted to this program)
During this 8-week-long workshops held by a professional artist and musician, I learnt the fundamentals of stop motions techniques. I had the chance to work with about other 15 students.
HONORS, CERTIFICATES AND AWARDS
MARYLAND INSTITUTE COLLEGE of ART (MICA), United States of America, %99 scholarship recipient, 2024:
*I was not able to accept this scholarship and enroll at the university since I am not able to afford the life expenses in the US.
Total of 206,000 out of 208,000 US Dollars:
Creative Vision Award - $18,000 annually
Presidential Scholarship - $10,000 annually
Academic Honors Scholarship - $5,000 annually
Thalheimer Scholarship - $10,000 annually
Trustee Scholarship- $1,000 annually
Deans Grant - $2,000 annually ($8,000 over four years)
CV Starr Award - $2,500 annually ($10,000 over four years)
MICA Work-Study - $3,000 annually ($12,000 over four years)
Eti Tog SEN GENÇSİN GÜÇ SENSİN Competition/ Finalist, Winner in the ART category: this year a total of 875 people applied to this competition and only 16 people were selected to be the winners. https://www.tog.org.tr/eti-sen-gencsin-guc-sensin
I applied on behalf of my teammates with the project Sitckers of Streets.
Each winner received a 20 thousand Turkish Lira fund and 6 months lasting mentorship.
Kız Başına- Veri Bilimi, Sayıların Ötesinde Projesi: A national art program supported by European Union that selected approximately 45 persons and provided by Kız başına which is an organization that actively works for the equality of genders in Turkey ( Kız Başına’s Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/kiz_basina/ )
We create art works in our own mediums using data science after the 6 days in total workshops provided by Kız Başına, Bager Akbay, Uğur Özdemir, Gözde Özaksoy, Aysunca Sanat, Gülçin Con Wright, Emine Yıldırım, Düzgün İlaslan, Dilan Dibek, Cem Sonel, Deniz Cem Önduygu, Efe Alpay, Batuhan Kırk, Ferhat Can Çoşkun, Cemile Nur Özel, Burcu Cürgül.
Our works will be exhibited in İstanbul and Diyarbakır in November and December.
Project Developer/Award Winner: My project on an art game with children was awarded as second place in Istanbul Gedik University’ national Idea Competition.
International Group Exhibition: International Istanbul Art Youth and Children Biennial, Istanbul, 2022: attended with my installation called Las Miertas Santas consisting of a video art and an interactive collage.
Group Exhibition: What Surrounds Us, curated by Judith Balme, Istanbul, 2022: an exhibition project which Judith Balme does as a series in the countries she visits. This exhibition was the Istanbul version of this series.
Exhibition for queer people by queer people: https://www.instagram.com/bi.nevi.sergi/
Bi' Nevi Exhibition 2022 Edition, Istanbul (also one of the organizers): exhibited my painting called “isimsiz.”
Group Exhibition: La Vision Art Gallery, Enigma Group Exhibition, Istanbul, 2021: Some of my collages were exhibited.
Workshop: Recent World History with Rock n Roll, 8 weeks long workshop given by Tahsin Bilge Avcı in Okuldisi, 2019 (accepted to this program).
IGCSE English As a Second Language: I got 6/9 in 10th grade
Duolingo English test: 120/160 (B2).
Winter School: Psychology as a Profession and in Life course given by Kadir Has University, 2021, completed with success.
Coursera Course: Art & Activity: Interactive Strategies for Engaging with Art given by MoMA, 2022: With the help of this course I developed my art game for children and got 2nd place in Gedik University’s Idea competition.
YGA (Young Guru Academy): An NGO for social change.
I was selected as one of the 2000 people out of 30k applicants to be invited to the YGA Conference 2023.
RESEARCH
Sticker and Street Art in The Istanbul underground Art Scene (book to be): I am currently conducting an anthropological research on street art and underground culture with a college professor Elvin Klose Karaaslan.
EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
Stickers of Streets (mid 2022- present): https://www.instagram.com/stickersofstreets/
Co-founder and Instagram page admin.
Stickers of Streets is a local, underground sticker collective based in Istanbul, Turkey. We introduce the stickers of the artists in the Istanbul subculture and create an archive about them. In addition, we organize various events that include all artists and art lovers. For example, we recently organized a bazaar for earthquake victims and various workshops where we met with other sticker lovers and designed stickers.
Stickers of Streets is the manifestation of my love for stickers. It is a personal project where I had the chance to showcase sticker medium as an accessible medium for everyone, especially for children. While street art in general is looked down upon, I find the sticker medium as an irreplaceable material for children in terms of art education. Stickers may easily be reproduced and children can stick them on anywhere to display them anywhere. They do not need a gallery to display their works. The new projects of ours will be on children and art education in terms of stickers.
iZbe PirintZz Kolektuv: https://www.instagram.com/izbepirintzkolektuv/ (2023 august-present)
iZbe is an anonymous collective, run by me, based in Istanbul that organizes, reviews and prints stuff. It self-publishes photozines and photobooks; organizes art bazaars; and reviews underground content from the depths of Youtube. It collaborates with a bookshop/creative space in İzmir,Turkey named Commentarivm, a bookshop in Istanbul, Turkey named Black Mustache Bookshop and a bookshop named Mephisto ( a bookshop chain in Turkey.) in order to sell its hand-bound photobook and photozine named “Concert Photography in Turkey Issue #1.”
Much as iZbe is a newly founded collective, it gained the interest and respect of many grounded concert photographers in Turkey.
The book I published under iZbe “Concert Photography in Turkey Issue #1” is a collective work including 15 concert photographers and 4 essays on this topic by 4 different photographers. This project is an essential attempt for archiving concert photography in Turkey. There has not been such a book before in Turkish literature.
Sticker Documentary (sticker belgeseli) (Late 2022-present): https://www.instagram.com/stickerbelgeseli/
Sticker Belgeseli is a documentary presented by Stickers of Sreets. A documentary that delves into the questions of "why stickers?" and "how are stickers made?" with various visual artists from alternative subcultures, as well as individuals from the music and skate scenes.
Bi' Nevi Exhibition 2022 Edition (a year long experience 2021-2022): https://www.instagram.com/bi.nevi.sergi/
Bi’ Nevi Exhibition is an annual, independent high school exhibition created by queer people for queer people. I was one of the organizers of the exhibition’s 2022 edition. We held weekly meetings and then arranged the exhibition in a gallery called arthere in Kadıköy, İstanbul. The exhibition lasted one week.
Türk Edebiyati Vakfi Genç Sanat Dergisi (2020-2021): I was a writer for a nationally prestigious e-magazine called Tedev Youth Art Magazine.
My articles on literature were published three times, them being:
5 Kavram Üzerinden Genç Werther'ın Acıları'nı Anlamak (Understanding the Sorrows of Young Werther through 5 Concepts)
Yahya Kemal'in 'Sonbahar' Şiirinde: 'Ev' Sembolü Olarak 'Ölüm' Teması (In Yahya Kemal's 'Autumn' Poem: The Theme of 'Death' as a 'Home' Symbol)
Abdullah Efendi'nin Rüyaları Üzerine: Kendi Işığınla Yüzleşmek (On Abdullah Efendi's Dreams: Facing Your Own Light)
VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE
Math teacher for Siraç Foundation (2020): I was a math teacher for unprivileged Syrian refugee middle school kids on the weekends for 16 hours.
Working with children was hectic yet inspiring to me. Seeing all these bright children with a lot of potentials let me to reading children learning in my leisure time.