A group of students and I took a studio that allowed us to go to Istanbul to do research and choose a project site that dealt with passages in the urban fabric. There were several passages of all kinds that allowed those walking in the streets to have alternative routes. 

The inspiration for the project came from seeing the young vibrant counter culture of art and music on the streets near the site. There are several contemporary art museums on Istiklal but none are passages. By making the passage into a contemporary art museum, it allows more users to view the art at their own pace. I want those who use the passage to be evoked by the art that they see and the way it is displayed. Maybe this “shortcut” they take allows them a piece of mind that will spiritually get them through the day. This passage becomes like a ritual to cleanse the soul and spark the imagination.

The art will be a mixed media of contemporary Turkish and international styles. Different performances of music and theatre can take place in different locations of the gallery. To break up the long site, I have decided to restore an exhisting building on one side and create a new building along Istiklal avenue with an open space in the center. Sheltered in the middle of these two would be an open aired sculpture art garden with several platforms to view the art. The art on the ground floor will support the main floor passage but more art will be extended vertically along metal framing that is also supporting the platforms. Large instillations and/or sculptures will be housed inside the light wells to take advantage of the natural light that will illuminate them more. The platforms that lead you on this adventure from the ground floor up to the remaining art will only touch the adjacent buildings in certain areas to allow as much natural light to enter from the sides. The platforms also act as a way of bridging the two buildings together to allow the flow of the passage to continue vertically.

The other major component to the passage is that there will be live-in residents that will have studio space to create the art that is displayed. This team of artist allows the public or other artist to get involved with the creation of the art within the large studio space. The live-in residents will get views of their creation below and to the outside city from their sun washed apartments. As people pass through the passage they will be able to see the studio space and see the art evolve over time. The passage will not only be a walk through, but a place for social interactions with a cafe, shops, event rooms, artist consulting offices and galleries with art that can strike up different conversations.