Material: Make-shift

Contemporary Art and Ecological Experiments (Production Workshop for Artists)

“Material: Make-shift”

Workshop Facilitator: Esra Oskay

Date: October 20-21-22, 2026

Time: 19:00-21:00

“Make-shift” can be thought of as a technique of making do with what is at hand. The technique is also a condition shaped by its materials: the materials at hand determine the method, rather than the plan determining the materials. This mode of construction, emerging from waste and discarded objects, arises out of necessity: in the shadow of the seamless lives promised by high-resolution images, it turns its attention to the frictions and imperfections of everyday life.

In this sense, “make-shift” can be understood both as an art of resistance (Scott, 1990) and as a tactic resonating with Steyerl’s notion of the “poor image” (Steyerl, 2009), which privileges velocity, intensity, and spread over resolution and visual quality. As a mode of production that exists outside established standards and takes root in the gaps, we will explore across three sessions how make-shift practices intersect with artistic practice

Esra Oskay (b. 1982, Başkale) focuses on the asymmetry of the visible, reflecting on alternative documentation methods that probe the limits of what can be seen and what can be said. Her recent work engages with the alternative infrastructures circulating behind the urban metabolism, the tools that let in what official language leaves out, and the informal, off-system practices of care that keep whatever falls outside the standards standing.

Oskay completed her undergraduate degree at Bilkent University Faculty of Fine Arts in 2005; her MA at Sabancı University’s Visual Arts and Visual Communication Design program (2005–2007); and her PhD at Edinburgh College of Art, University of Edinburgh (2009–2014). She conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Ioannina (Greece) (2018–2019). She took part in İKSV’s ÇAP Research and Study Program (2019–2020), the BAK Situated Practices Fellowship (2023–24), the School of Common Knowledge program organized by L’Internationale (2024), and the Transcultural Academy program organized by the Dresden State Art Collections (SKD) (2024).

The recent exhibitions she participated include «Visitor Talks Back», Albertinum, Dresden, Germany (2024); Research Interrupted, Utrecht, Netherlands (2024); Yerlebir (solo exhibition), Bilsart (2024); the 8th Çanakkale Biennial (2022); and the 37th Akbank Contemporary Artists Exhibition (2019).

Since 2022, she has been running Çapak Yazı-Çizi Magazine together with Seniha Ünay, and she currently teaches at the Department of Painting, Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University.

* During the pre-registration stage, you are expected to include a minimum 40-word text describing your artistic practice and motivation for participating in the workshop. Applications will be reviewed, and selected participants will receive invitations via email.

* This workshop is intended for participants working in contemporary art or aiming to engage in a process of artistic production and research focused on ecological processes, material research, and transformation. Regular attendance throughout the program is expected. Participation is free of charge and capacity is limited to 15 participants.

* To participate in the program, you can submit your application by filling out the pre-registration form via the “Register” button on the page. Registration will open one week before the first event (13.10.2026 at 19:00), and the “Register” button will become accessible from this date.

Workshop Program

- 20.10.2026 Tuesday / 19:00 - 21:00 / Make-shift: A Framework (Online)

The first session aims to expand the framework of make-shift as a non-standard mode of construction, focusing on the particular logic of everyday temporary solutions. We will consider how make-shift, as a mode of construction outside established standards, finds its place within artistic practice, while also bringing our own make-shift practices to the table.

- 21.10.2026 Wednesday / 19:00 - 21:00 / I Made a Make-shift: How the Method Works in Practice  (Online)

Participants will reflect on and share their individual practices through the framework of make-shift construction. These exchanges will be followed by collective exercises and a discussion of the exercises.

- 22.10.2026 Thursday / 19:00 - 21:00 / Discussion on Project Drafts (Online)

In the final session, participants will share the projects they have developed throughout the process and the ideas they are currently working on. These ideas will then be discussed collectively with the other participants.