Fundraiser for Turkey, Syria and the Kurdish Regions

Location: Nieuwe Instituut

Join us on Friday, March 17 for an earthquake fundraising program organized by Nieuwe Instituut and in collaboration with the fundraising initiative Artists in Solidarity Netherlands, as well as Kunstinstituut Melly, the International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam, the Mondriaan Fonds, Stimuleringsfonds, the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten, and Het Nieuwe Café.

During the evening, Nieuwe Instituut will host talks, refreshments, and a live sale of art directly contributing to relief fundraising. As part of this sale Cecilia Vicuña together with Kunstinstituut Melly will donate an edition of her silkscreen print ‘El Paro’, along with a collaborative needlepoint textile produced during a TRAININGS session “Living Crisis from a Distance” led by Diana Al-Halabi and Hilda Moucharrafieh on Saturday, March 11.

This tapestry was created by a gathering of artists from different diasporic communities who gather together at Kunstinstituut Melly to share, reflect, and channel their experiences in the wake of this unfolding tragedy.

During the devastating earthquakes in Turkey, Syria and Kurdistan at least 50,000 people have died and millions have lost their homes. Solidarity and support is more urgent than ever. This evening’s donation efforts will directly be used to support NGOs based in the region that work for immediate earthquake relief as well as long-term healing and reconstruction.

During this event, the networks of architects, designers, digital makers and artists of all involved parties and organizations will be in conversation with those attending. Part of the evening is an art sale with donated (design) works that will contribute to the collection of funds. Next to the conversations, there will be related videos, music and food as other ways to come together.

Artists in Solidarity Netherlands is a group of artists and cultural workers from Turkey based in the Netherlands who collectively work on creating awareness, community building and fundraising for the benefit of peoples affected by the earthquakes. They specifically focus their work on the building of resistant, reliable relationships with grassroots organisations, initiatives and collectives in the region.

All proceeds of the evening will go to Afet için Feminist Dayanışma (organising aid from Istanbul to the earthquake region), Mor Dayanışma (women and children in Antakya), Kırkayak Kültür (migrants and refugees across the earthquake region), Lubunya Deprem (LGBTI+ and sex workers across the region), Heyvasor (Red Crescent across Rojava) and Dört Ayaklı Şehir (animal victims of the earthquake).

For questions and general contact surrounding this action, please email Artists in Solidarity Netherlands (artistsinsolidaritynl [​at​] gmail.com) or Flora van Gaalen (f.vangaalen [​at​] nieuweinstituut.nl) on behalf of Nieuwe Instituut.