https://bagimsizlar.org/

BAĞIMSIZLAR [INDEPENDENTS] is an ongoing project based on listing and mapping initiatives, CSOs and not-for-profit ventures in Turkey, experting on arts and culture or including artistic and cultural practices in their works. In order to mark changes occurred in the local habitat from 2000 to this date, the database also hosts organizations and spaces that are not active or present anymore. Other than examining the dissemination of organizations on the map, users can obtain basic information about each entity, by making custom classifications on the first hand data based on place of location, status of the foundation, duration of activity, area of expertise, resources and type of audience.

The inventory covers independent contemporary initiatives, collectives, autonomous groups, artist-run-spaces besides associations, foundations, social cooperatives and non-profit ventures while focus fields of participating organizations are varied as arts (in general), culture, heritage, memory, immigration, community building, social integration and inclusion, design, gastronomy and sustainable documentation. Within this context, right based organizations dealing with ecology, renewable energy, urban / rural issues and gender equality are also included in the inventory; if their concerns and practices are relevant to creative actions.

The primary aim of the project is defined as “empowering the visibility of grassroots movements, independent organizations and CSOs while creating a digital environment of solidarity for participants and beneficiaries to increase their interplay for collaboration and broadening their networks.” In addition to that, the project supplies some necessary input for scholars and researchers, who aim further studies on dissemination of artistic and cultural ventures, measuring capacity of regions and sustainability of artist-run spaces. Thus, besides scholars and researchers; artists, curators, critics, art students, cultural managers, event designers, activists, advocators, administrators of CSOs and local governments engaged in cultural policy studies are taken as beneficiaries.

Operational Team of BAĞIMSIZLAR [INDEPENDENTS] includes scholars, researchers and cultural managers, who have been collaborating on various actions, since many years. Taking leading or administrative roles in numerous ongoing cultural projects in cooperation with civic society is a common asset of all team members. Initiated by Ekmel Ertan (amberPlatform), Zeynep Okyay (PASAJ), İpek Çankaya (halka art project, Art Halicarnassus), Saliha Yavuz (Hayy Open Space, Komünitas), Sarp Keskiner (KARANTINA, Komunitas, Konserve, Teos Arts and Culture Association), Daniele Savasta (Yokuşun Başı), Özgül Kılınçarslan ( Dahili Bellek ), Günseli Baki ( Sarı Denizaltı ), Yeliz Kahya, Didem Ermiş, Ezgi Bakçay (Karşı Sanat), Arzu Arbak (Varız Burdayız), Beyza Boynudelik, Handan Demir; BAĞIMSIZLAR [INDEPENDENTS] follows a participatory approach by expanding its operational team with addition of cultural professionals based in various cities.

MotionComposer is a research project conceived and run by Robert Wechsler, Palindrome. MC seeks new methods and tools for the rehabilitation and education of the differently-abled and elderly people as well as a tool for performers. More information can be found on https://motioncomposer.de

I acted as administrative director of the project between Nov 2016 and May 2018.

Currently, I am a board member of the Palindrome Dance e.V.  and a collaborator in MotionComposer team.

BELLY-C: AN INTERFACE FOR BELLY DANCE PERFORMANCE

This research proposes an interface titled Belly-C to be used in belly dance performances and aims to test the applicability and possible results of the new technologies applied to traditional belly dance.

This project would not be possible without the collaboration and help of Berrak Yedek.

Belly-C is an interface that gives the control of some or all elements of the music to the dancer and allows her to generate music through formal belly dance movements.

A literature review on the research and application in the fields of physical interaction tools, dance and new music interfaces has been conducted for this research in order to determine the most appropriate method and approach for the proposed interface. Accordingly, the structure of belly dance movements was taken as the basis and the method of inertial movement tracking was selected. Belly-C consists of hardware and a software that has three main modules.  The hardware, which consists of  sensors placed on the body of the dancer and a wireless sensor interface that transfers sensor data, transmits the movements of the dancer onto the computer environment. The software, which consists of movement recognition module, a mapping module and a voice synthesis module, processes the sensor data and recognizes the movements. It then produces the sounds that match the movements according to a predefined map.

Belly-C presents an approach reverses the basic perception of the belly dance as the dancer accompanying the music by allowing the dancer to generate the music entirely or to contribute to it by using her own body.

Belly-C applies the mapping relationship between movement and music onto belly dance movement patterns. For this purpose, belly dance movements have been examined and a Basic Belly Dance Movements vocabulary have been drawn up as the basis of the mapping operation. However, Belly-C has been designed as a general-purpose performance tool and can be used for a variety of genres and objectives through variations in its movement and sound libraries.

The research application concludes that the method selected for movement tracking is appropriate and that the signatures of the movements can be isolated and detected. However, it was also observed that more developed software than the one used in this research will be needed to perfect the movement tracking operation. By showing that the basic movements are also legible in the continuity of the dance, this research suggests that HMM or other similar methods can be used for movement tracking.

The research work with the belly dancer suggests that even though Belly-C stems from the classical belly dance form and stays within its confines, it was a new approach and experience for the dancer. In this vein, it was observed that technology altered the dancer's perception of her body and that it necessitated a new approach to dance on her part. From the viewpoint and experience of the dancer, it was observed that the resulting performance was less classical belly dance than a new interpretation that builds itself on belly dance.

Some images from the research period to create a belly dance alphabet:

You can download the research report Belly-C (pdf - inTurkish). The web site of the project will be re-activated soon.

This research was supported by TUBITAK and was my MA thesis dissertation guided by Prof Oğuzhan Özcan at YTÜ.