Material: Land

Contemporary Art and Ecological Experiments (Production Workshop for Artists)

“Material: Land”

Facilitator: Elmas Deniz

Date: 22 - 25 December 2025

Time: 19:00 - 21:00

Land is shaped through practices of boundary-making, ownership, and intervention—functioning as both a physical and political extension of nature. This workshop invites participants to consider land as a material within contemporary artistic production. Throughout the program, the ecological, aesthetic, and political dimensions of land will be explored, alongside its impact on human, animal, and plant life. Elmas Deniz will share insights from her long-standing ecological research and artistic practice, offering a space to collectively rethink the possibilities of land within artistic production.

Elmas Deniz (1981, Bergama) is a conceptual artist whose practice focuses on the complex intersections between economy, value systems, and nature. Her work investigates the historical transformation of human–nature relations, ecological crises, endangered species, fragile ecosystems, and the often invisible rights of non-human beings. Through a critical perspective on inequality, consumption culture, and capitalist structures, Deniz explores how the idea of nature is shaped within social, political, and economic frameworks. Her multi-layered practice spans video, installation, text, archival material, and object-based production, bringing together sensory, conceptual, and analytical approaches. She is based in Istanbul and Izmir–Karaburun, and her work has been exhibited widely both in Turkey and internationally.

* This workshop is intended for participants interested in land, ecology, ecosystem relations, or those beginning work in these areas. Regular attendance is expected throughout the program. Participation is free and limited to 15 people.

* To register, please complete the pre-registration form via the 'Register' button on the event page. In the pre-registration form, you are expected to include a minimum 50-word text describing your practice, your relationship with land, and your motivation. Applications will be reviewed, and accepted participants will receive an invitation via email.

* To join the program, please fill out the pre-registration form via the “Register” button on the page. Registration will open one week before the first session (December 15, 2025, 19:00) and the “Register” button will become accessible. In the pre-registration form, you are expected to include a minimum 50-word text describing your practice, your relationship with land, and your motivation. Applications will be reviewed, and accepted participants will receive an invitation via email.

Program Schedule

- Monday, December 22, 2025 / 19:00 - 21:00 / On Production and Material (Online)

In this session, Elmas Deniz will introduce her artistic practice, focusing on long-term research related to land, ecological concerns, perceptions of nature, and the relationship between economy and the environment. The session will explore historical, cultural, and ecological dimensions of understanding land as material, and discuss how land can open conceptual and artistic research possibilities beyond its physical qualities.

- Tuesday, December 23, 2025 / 19:00 - 21:00 / Concepts and Production Process for Participants (Online)

Participants will present their areas of interest, ongoing research topics, and personal relationships with land. Through these presentations, approaches from different disciplines will be compared, and discussions will focus on how conceptual development, research methods, and material engagement inform an artistic practice. This session aims to help participants articulate and expand their individual production potentials.

- Wednesday, December 24, 2025 / 19:00 - 21:00 / Potentials of Material (Online)

This session will address the potential, limitations, risks, and conceptual depth of land as artistic material. Ecological, political, and aesthetic readings will be introduced to discuss how art can transform the notion of land. Participants will examine ways land can function as an image, a concept, a research site, or a direct material, supported by examples from contemporary artistic production.

- Thursday, December 25, 2025 / 19:00 - 21:00 / On Exhibition Practices (Online)

In the final session, participants will present ideas and research developed throughout the workshop. Discussions will focus on how land can inform exhibition strategies, presentation methods, contextual framing, and spatial relationships. Guidance will be provided on how participants may further develop their projects beyond the workshop.