speculative nematode [in Istanbul]: oddly possible narratives for living together

Open Call

Deadline: 7 August 2022

International Workshop, 5-14 September 2022

Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul

Organizers: Aslihan Senel, Oyku Simsek, Elif Nur Adiguzel

Speculative Nematode invites you to explore and map odd instances of human and non-human collaborations through architecture in Istanbul. Like an overgrown beast in itself, Istanbul is rather an odd more-than-human conglomeration than the other of the natural, rural, and suburban, as often conceived and represented.

Speculative Nematode will do more than acknowledging the existing situations, but also seek collective and playful ways of narrating other “oddly possible ways of living together” within a more-than-human world. 

        “Call me Bursaphelenchus xylophilus. I’m a tiny, wormlike creature, a nematode, and I spend most of my time crunching the insides of pine trees. But my kin are as well-traveled as any whaler sailing the seven seas. Stick with me, and I’ll tell you about some curious voyages. But wait: who would want to hear about the world from a worm?” Anna Tsing, The Mushroom at the End of the World, 2015

Inspired by the post-human environmentalist and feminist debate on collective and performative subjectivities, namely Donna Haraway’s suggestion of ‘making kin’ and ‘becoming with’ (2016),  Speculative Nematode will suggest making and becoming with others to be able to survive in the contemporary disturbing times of ecological, economic, and political crises, all too harshly experienced in Istanbul. 

Instead of segregationist, competitive, heroizing and pragmatic grand narratives of the city of Istanbul, Speculative Nematode cares for egalitarian, sharing, collaborative and reproductive micro narratives. For this, we will visit those sites of odd more-than-human collaborations and explore site-specific ways of working through sketching, mapping, and storytelling. Speculative Nematode will question the ways in which the dominant narratives of topography of Istanbul is constructed and represented, for ex. in history books, mythologies, encyclopedias, maps and guidebooks, and furthermore try to build an oddly possible topography of its own.

Students in fields of architectural and spatial studies (architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, cultural geography, literature, arts, …) in their later years (Bachelor 3rd-4th year and Post Graduate) from around the world are invited to apply.

For this 10-day intensive workshop, there's no tuition fee. The participants will be responsible for their travel to and from Istanbul, and their accommodation, food and other living expenses during the workshop, although advice may be provided for affordable possibilities. The materials for the workshop will be provided by the organizers, yet the students will be asked to bring some basic sketching materials. The studio spaces of ITU Faculty of Architecture in Taksim will provide a base for the workshop, seminars and film screenings.

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More details at https://speculativenematodeistanbul.wordpress.com

For further questions, speculativenematode@gmail.com