Material: Leftovers

Contemporary Art and Ecological Experiments (Production Workshop for Artists)

“Material: Leftovers”

Workshop Facilitator: Buşra Tunç

Date: 9-11 June 2026

Time: 19:00-21:00

“Material: Leftovers” is a program that approaches industrial waste -specifically materials discarded when machines are "purged" due to various jams during production processes- as a domain for artistic research and contemplation. Treating industrial complexes as a type of archaeological excavation site, the program will examine the invisible layers of mass production and explore industrial geology together. Over the course of the three-day program, the focus will be on the moments when raw materials, such as metals and plastics like polypropylene and its derivatives, take on unexpected forms within injection molding machines. The discussion will be framed around concepts such as accumulation and purging, defying the mold, falling off the conveyor belt, and going astray.

Buşra Tunç is an architect/artist who produces perception and experience-focused works in the fields of architecture, art, and design. Having received education in architecture, cinema, and sound, the concept of "Atmosphere" forms the focal point in Tunç's works. Her atmospheres are designed as a direct element of the artwork, shaping the viewer's relationship with space and focusing on the experience. The artist, who addresses space and time with an integrated approach, combines light, sound, and materials based on narratives that are transformative, possess a memory, and incorporate the body. Industrial and everyday materials used outside their original function, optical units that alter scale, and analog instruments displaying digital appearances are prominent elements in her works. The materials frequently contain traces, remnants, and memories from industrial spaces and crowded cities, and when reconstructed in different narratives, they continue to carry these traces.

Tunç's works have been exhibited at the Tokyo Bienniale in 2023 and 2021. She has participated in the SVA-New York, Social Dive-Tokyo, Cité internationale des arts-Paris artist residency programs. To date, Tunc has collaborated with Istanbul Modern, Pera Museum, MSUB Museum of Contemporary Art in Belgrade. Tunc’s main site-specific installations are; Ooze, Trencin 2026 (Slovakia), An Intimate Inventory of Leftovers (Çubuklu Siloloar, 2025), New Extremophiles (YKKS, 2024), Scratch (Sultan Hanı Caravanserai, 2022) Äther (Goethe Institut Istanbul, 2020), Majaz (Büyük Valide Han, 2017), Oculus (MSGSU Tophane-i Amire, 2016), Suruhu (Nakilbent Cistern, 2015). Tunç have received artistic production funds from CultureCIVIC and Saha Association for two of her projects. She currently continues her practice in Istanbul.

* 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 (02.06.2026 at 19:00), and the “Register” button will become accessible from this date.

Workshop Program

- 09.06.2026 Tuesday / 19:00 - 21:00 / Industrial Remnants and Field Experience  (Online)

Delving into a mass-production industrial complex and tracing the residues generated by machines: the first session will explore the moments when plastic and metal raw materials manifest in unexpected ways, and the research practice shaped around these elements, drawing from the artist's own field experience and research process. Prioritizing a systemic reading that forms around the object rather than being strictly object-oriented, the session will discuss the political and ecological possibilities of leftover materials through examples from various disciplines.

- 10.06.2026 Thursday / 19:00 - 21:00 / Participants' Material Maps (Online)

A session featuring short presentations by participants regarding their own approaches to "going astray" within their personal histories, the materials they engage with, and their production processes. Together, the group will map out how each participant intends to connect with the concept of leftover, alongside the "unwanted" elements within their own practice.

- 11.06.2026 Friday / 19:00 - 21:00 / Possibilities of Matter and Alternative Scenes  (Online)

In the closing session, participants will share the ideas and production directions they have developed throughout the program. Strategies for making the process itself visible and evading the danger of superficial "decorativism" will be discussed collectively.