Another education is possible in Turkey

Art critic Ayşegül Sönmez has long pursued her dream of an art school. It is now becoming a reality with a fledgling grassroots initiative.

Sönmez has been a lecturer at the Fine Arts Department of Okan University for eight years, while also tutoring groups and the staff of various institutions on contemporary art and collectorship. 

In addition, she has a background of teaching at Belgium's HISK art school. HISK is a school where post graduate and doctoral level art students are able to select their own teachers. Within this structure, teachers are able to visit their students at their own studios and discuss their work. 

With the influence of this experience, Sönmez has been envisioning an idealistic and free art education. In a way, she has come up with an anti-academic structure, rather like the Tavanarası phenomenon in Turkey in the 1950s, from which artists such as Atıf Yılmaz and Ömer Uluç sprung. 

"Sanatatak Eğitim" (Art Attack Education), which will launch on Jan. 14, was born out of these thoughts. Its aim is to encourage independent artists, designing an education program that would address a social sciences student as well as a fine arts student, or a white-collar worker casually interested in philosophy, art and literature. 

In this education model there are no titles such as professor or associate professor; there are simply trainers who hold classes with passion and people who want to attend class. 

"Sanatatak Eğitim," in short, says another education is possible. It is one small step on the path to Sönmez's school dream. 

It has prepared a different curriculum from different disciplines and has posted an appeal on its website www.sanatatak.com. Some of the trainers on the project come from...