Habitat for the Arts

March - December 2022
ÇANAKKALE

Founded in 2013 by CABININ (Çanakkale Biennial Initiative), MAHAL is a multi-functional art space located in a historic district with stone houses dating back to the late 19th century, reflecting the multicultural past of the city. Since 2020, under the pandemic conditions, a neighbouring stone building with similarly authentic features has been transformed to another cultural centre dedicated to art and civil society.

The new building has been incorporated into MAHAL as a functional space for a residency program which will host creative individuals, academics and experts from contemporary spheres of cultural production, and allow for artistic production and masterclass and workshop organisation. This dual structure serves as infrastructure for projects and collaborations in art, culture and other creative industries.

The technical equipment that was acquired with this grant is used not only in MAHAL’s spaces but in other activities the initiative may hold in public spaces across the city.
 
By working in tandem with MAHAL since May 2022, CABININ's efforts to develop a Habitat for the Arts based on its 16-year experience and expertise has reached new heights with this new structure.

Çanakkale Biennial Initiative (CABININ) 

Çanakkale Biennial Initiative (CABININ) is a civil initiative focusing on contemporary art and bringing together different sections of society. Since 2008, the Çanakkale Biennial has been among Turkey’s most established and authentic contemporary art events.

Troya Cultural Association is the legal entity for the initiative. Established in 2013, MAHAL is Çanakkale's first alternative art space, which serves as a versatile hub for interdisciplinary production, exhibitions, screenings, civil society activities and non-profit projects, as well as a communication network and an archive.

Within the corporate and physical structure it forged with Troy Cultural Association and MAHAL, CABININ facilitates year-round projects and activities of local, national and international scale on various disciplines such as design, archeology, tourism, urban history, gastronomy, education and ecology.

This page is published on 2 March 2022.
Last update: 4 March 2022

TAGS: art in the public sphere, artist-in-residence programme, ÇANAKKALE, ecology, exhibition, networking, renovation, show, structural support, technical equipment, training, urban memory, workshop