This seminar provides an opportunity to rethink the concepts of utopia, multilayeredness, and togetherness, which inspire the Spatial J/U/S/T Art and Design Collective. By integrating these ideas with experiences from the JUST Bot*anica Workshop, the seminar explores coexistence within the sound, pattern, and nature layers designed with tools inspired by urban life, nature, and movement. It delves into the traces transformed by light, examining the relationship between the multilayered structures and physical and social spaces, both transparent and opaque, bright and dark.
Participants will collectively explore ideas about developing new tools and design languages, creating utopias for a fair coexistence, and reconsidering our methods of being together. The seminar offers an opportunity to reinterpret collective design practices through ecological and movement-based approaches.
Dilek Yördem:
A graduate of the Visual Communication Design Department at Yıldız Technical University, Yördem completed her master’s degree in Interactive Media Design at the same university, focusing on physical and light interactions in books. She is an artist working in experience design, data visualization, visual design, and illustration. She has illustrated 12 books published by various publishers and exhibited her works at Pera Museum, London Illustration Fair, The Island Bristol, University of Amsterdam, and University of the Arts London. Under the name +entia, she produces artist books and light-interactive art projects. She is a lecturer at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University and is pursuing her PhD in Graphic Design.
Merve Akdağ:
Akdağ holds a bachelor’s degree in Architecture from Istanbul Technical University and a master’s degree in Urban and Architecture from Özyeğin University. Her work focuses on the coexistence of interdisciplinary productions and the impact of inclusive design approaches on urban space. She has conducted workshops, seminars, and summer school projects in various cities, utilizing urban infographic-based communication and storytelling methods. She designs interactive productions emphasizing fair spaces and participation. Currently, she works as the Tactical Urbanism and Participation Lead at the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality’s Play and Recreation Directorate.
