Tarlabaşı Kentsel Dönüşüm Projesi’nin Sanatçı Çalışmaları Üzerinden Değerlendirilmesi

Abstract

Kentler, insanla bütünleşik doğası gereği; toplumun ekonomik, politik ve sosyal koşullarındaki değişimlere göre değişmekte ve dönüşmektedir. 1980’lerden itibaren sanayisizleşme ve küreselleşme ile birlikte kentlerin değişim ve dönüşümlerinde yeni bir sürece girilmiş; sanayi fonksiyonunu kaybeden kentlerin kalkınması için kültür ve kent politikaları birleşmiştir. Bu süreçte kentlerin tarihi merkezleri yeniden önem kazanmıştır. Çok kültürlülük, kent içinde farklılıkların bir arada olmasının yarattığı potansiyel, yerelin önemi ve yaratıcılık konuları ise birleşen politikaların odağındadır. Kentin olumsuz koşulları ve problemlerine yönelik olarak ortaya konulan dönüşüm projeleri bu dinamiklerin etkisinde birden fazla aktörün katılımı ile gerçekleşmektedir. Kentlerin yenilenmesinde kültür ve sanat etkinliklerinin önem kazanması sanatçıları da dönüşümün aktörlerinden biri haline getirmektedir. Sanatçıların bu süreçlere katılımı; gerçekleştirdikleri çalışmalarla insanların bir araya gelmesini sağlamak ve kentte yaratıcı dinamiklerin ortaya çıkabilmesi için fırsat yaratmak, gerçekleşen dönüşümü görünür kılmak, gerçekleşen projeye karşı toplumda farkındalık yaratmak olabildiği gibi alana ilgiyi çekmesi ve emlak fiyatlarını arttırması nedeniyle soylulaştırmada öncü rol alması ile de sonuçlanabilmektedir. Yaratıcılık kavramı etrafında şekillenen 21. yüzyılda, güncel tartışmalar küreselleşmenin, şehirlerarası rekabetin artışının ve yaratıcı endüstrilerin önem kazanmasının salt eleştirisinden ziyade bu politikalarla kentlerde nasıl bir gelişim sağlanabiliri sorgulamaktadır. Bu doğrultuda da sanatçılar dönüşümlerde etkin rol alarak, yerelden beslenen, bölgede yaşayanların isteklerine göre şekillenen sürdürülebilir dönüşümlerin öncüsü olabilmektedir. Bu çalışma, Türkiye’de kamu özel ortaklığı ile gerçekleştirilen ilk dönüşüm projesi olan Tarlabaşı Kentsel Dönüşüm Projesi (1. Etap) esnasında gerçekleştirilen sanatçı çalışmaları üzerinden kentlerin değişim ve dönüşümlerinde sanatın ve sanatçının rolünü incelemektedir. Bu doğrultuda “Kentlerin dönüşümlerinde sanatçının rolü nedir?”, “Sanatçılar, Tarlabaşı özelinde, dönüşüme nasıl dahil olmaktadır?, “Sanatçıların çalışmalarıyla Tarlabaşı’nın dönüşümüne dahil olmasının alana nasıl bir etkisi vardır?”, “Gerçekleşen dönüşümün sonuçlarına sanatçı etki edebiliyor mu?”, Tarlabaşı dönüşümünün yarattığı mağduriyetleri sanatçının değiştirme gücü var mı?” sorularını sormakta ve bu sorulara cevap aramaktadır. Bu doğrultuda çalışmanın tartıştığı kavramsal çevrenin konuları kent, kültür, kent ve kültür politikaları, kentlerin değişim ve dönüşümünde sanatçının rolü olmakta ve bu konular yurt dışında gerçekleşmiş örneklerle birlikte ele alınmaktadır. Devamında Tarlabaşı’ndaki dönüşümü konu alan sanatçı çalışmaları, festivaller incelenmekte, sanatçılarla gerçekleştirilen mülakatlarla, semtin dönüşümüne karşı bakış açıları, dönüşüme dâhil olma biçimleri, sanatçıların dönüşümde kendilerini nasıl konumlandıklarını çözümlemeye çalışmaktadır. Çalışmanın elde ettiği veriler sınırlı çerçevesiyle Tarlabaşı’nda gerçekleşen dönüşümde sanat ve sanatçının rolüne dikkat çekerek, devamında eklenecek çalışmalarla İstanbul’da sanatın ve sanatçının dönüşümde öncü olduğu yeni bir dönüşüm politikası oluşturabilmenin önünü açmayı hedeflemektedir.

This study examines the role of art and artists in the transformation of cities through artist works carried out during the Tarlabaşı Urban Transformation Project (1st stage), the first transformation project executed with a public private partnership in Turkey. In this respect, the following questions are asked “What is the role of the artist in the transformation of the cities?”, “What is the effect of the involvement of artists in the transformation of Tarlabaşı?”, “How can the artist influence the results of the transformation?”, “Does the artist have the power to reduce the victimization of the Tarlabaşı transformation?”. The conceptual circle discussed in this direction is the urban, culture, urban and cultural politics, the role of the artist in the transformation and alteration of cities, and these issues are handled together with the examples that have taken place abroad. In the following, artist studies on the transformation in Tarlabaşı, the festivals are examined, the interviews with the artists, the perspectives towards the transformation of the societies, the ways in which transformation is involved, the artists are trying to analyze how they are positioned in transformation. Drawing attention to the role of art and artist in the transformation that takes place in Tarlabaşı, the main objective of this study is to open up a new transformation policy in İstanbul, which is pionered by art and artists. Cities, the inherent nature of human beings, are changing according to changes in economic, political and social conditions in society. Since the 1980s, a new process has taken place in the changes and transformations of cities with deindustrialization and globalization; Culture and city politics have merged for the development of the cities in the loss of industrial function. In this process, the historical centers of the cities became important again. Multiculturalism, the potential created by the coexistence of diversity within the city, and the importance of local and creativity issues are at the center of merged policies. The transformation projects that are offered for the negative conditions and problems of the city are realized with the participation of more than one actor under the influence of these dynamics. The importance of cultural and artistic activities in the renewal of the cities makes the artists become one of the actors of transformation. The educative and guiding role of the artist in society is important in this case (Emmelhainz, 2013), (Stallabrass, 2004). The manner in which the artist participates in the transformation takes place in several different ways. The first one is participation of the artist in the transformational process with the creative city dynamics that focus on creativity. Art is unifying; it discovers people's creativity by organizing them against the solution of problems and also it creates awareness. People socialize by participating in art events. Art leads people to dream (Landry et al., 1996). In the completion of the classifications, Charles Landry, Lesley Greene, Francois Matarasso and Franco Bianchini’s "Art of Regeneration" book took advantage. Participation of the artist through creative city dynamics is one of the factors considered necessary for a field to be creative after the transformation and the fact that the actors are in cooperation with the artist. With the cooperation established, the road map of the transformation of the cities with the cultural activity is drawn. This roadmap consists of awareness, expert consultation, cultural landscape mapping, inter-departmental partnerships, resources, examples and models, determination of cultural strategy, capital development and activities, cultural development partnership, monitoring and evaluation, transparency and justice, registration and documentation. Another form of participation of the artist in urban and urban transformation is due to the artist's preference for place. This situation begins with the artist’s consciously or unconsciously choosing to live or work in their idle places instead of the other side of the city such as diversely populated city centers. It draws attention to receiving the leading role of the artists in the society by increasing the prices of the houses and transforming the region. The importance of the region, combined with the logic of real estate development, results in the area becoming a construction site and its social welfare being damaged. Similarly attracting attention to the field with the productions of the artist can trigger gentrification on the field. The third form of participation of artists to transformation is through "political action", "relational art", "social litigation art". In this participation, the consequences of planned transformations by certain authorities lead to a number of victimizations. The artists are taking action to make visible what happened with the works they perform. By getting involved in these processes, artists can make people come together with the works they have done; create an opportunity to reveal creative dynamics in the city; make the transformation that is realized; raise awareness in the society against the actual project; take a leading role in gentrification because of the attention they have taken to the field; increase real estate prices as well. In the twenty-first century, shaped by the concept of creativity, contemporary debates are questioning how globalization can be improved in cities with these policies, rather than just criticizing the increase in intercity competition and the importance of creative industries. In this direction, artists take an active role in transformations, leading to sustainable transformations that are shaped by the needs of the inhabitants living in the region. In the third chapter, the involvement of the artists in the transformation, the roles and transformation effects of the cities in their transformation are discussed in the context of Tarlabaşı. This discussion,"What is the role of the artist in transforming the cities?", "How are artists involved in transformations in Tarlabaşı?”, “What kind of effects does it have on the field of being involved? "," Does the work of the artist give momentum to gentrification in transformation? Or is it an experimental playground for consciousness of society?”, “Is the artist able to influence the outcome of the transformation that has occurred?”, “Is there a power to change the artist's grievances created by the transformation of Tarlabaşı?” was held within the framework of these questions. The first stage of the Tarlabaşı Urban Transformation Project is being criticized for its involvement in movement of people who live there, the method followed by the officers regarding the preservation of historical buildings, the concerns of obtaining rent, the non-transparent project process, the anti-democratic structure of the transformation. For these reasons, Tarlabaşı Project is seen as a gentrification project. The project contains many contradictions in itself. By looking at the news about Tarlabaşı Urban Transformation, the web page for promoting the Project, it is possible to say that there are significant differences between the desagined future and the future in real terms. Physical, social and economical targets of the project might be a solution to the problems of Tarlabaşı district. The physical target including the green area for people living there, the structures to be preserved and moved to the future, represents a necessary transformation for Tarlabaşı. Economically, the creation of new jobs and the creation of employment for those living in the area will undoubtedly be an important step in the recovery of the region, reducing the number of crime in the area. Similarly, providing vocational education to people socially less educated, but talented and willing to work will economically and socially develop Tarlabaşı. Unfortunately, neither the architectural projects and the lifestyles they represent, nor the processes and outcomes during the implementation of the project do not match these goals. The policy adopted by the form of implementation also causes social inequality, exclusion and commercialization of urban areas (Aksoy, 2009). Tarlabaşı is a district that faced a great deal of migrations and destructions in past. That’s why Tarlabaşı’s social structure includes many sub-cultures in it. Moreover, due to it’s historical background and central location, the district becomes strategic. The district is in the hearth of pioneer social actors, which ignite the creativity in the city like artists, designers, media, architects. Tarlabaşı has an important historical, environmental and cultural potential. However, the city policy that leads the transformation in Tarlabaşı has an approach that sees these potentials as merely "real estate attraction". The method followed in the implementation of the project does not comply with a participatory approach. This situation prevents Tarlabaşı from revealing its own dynamics and it destroys district. The artists who opposed this transformation, performed festivals and artworks to document the victimization in the direction of their own possibilities, draw attention to the field, document the disappearance of the neighborhood structure with destruction of Tarlabaşı. Artists are sad and worried about the transformation politics destroying multiculturalism. They are pessimistic about the future of Tarlabaşı. The dialogue that the artists have established with the local people has an important role in the sense of the artist's desires for the local people, in the awareness of the living aggrieved and in unity among the local people. In this respect, the artists have a different approach than the political actors who realize the transformation of their own thoughts. The artists consider that the transformation must occur, without displacement of the people and by preserving the architectural characteristics. For this reason, the artists are standing against the transformation. In this case, it shows that the artists participation in the transformation based on "political action", "relational art", "the art of social case" . In the direction of interviews and analyses, artists seem to undertake following responsibilities and goals: to display an activist approach to the lost values, to announce the grievances, to organize the artists within themselves and to set a new policy for the city, to actively take part in the process carried out by the municipality and to have a say in transformation in dialogue with the neighborhood. As evidenced by the phenomena, the artists see themselves responsible for the city and regard themselves as actors who must take an active role in urban transformation. The most important role they define for themselves that they will take during the transformation is to make people and the process in Tarlabaşı visible through "political action", "relational art", "social litigation art". The spontaneous development of the locale, based on the process by which the artists settled on the field, is the actor of a transformational model that is established with creative dynamics of artists, while there is a planned transformation. That is to say, all of the titles we describe as forms of involvement of the artist in urban transformation are described by the artists. The municipality, on the other hand, does not see the artist as an actor of transformation in any given time. This situation causes problems in the establisment of cooperation with the community, the creativity that can arise, and the artist's sensitivity. Artists, on the other hand, feel themselves responsible for the city in this case and build an experiential playground to create awareness in the society with their humble work and to make the inhabitants more visible. Undoubtedly, there is no power to change the process of removing or changing the economic, physical and social aura of the district. However, the experimental game the artists are constructing has the potential to create awareness, to open a new field of discussion regarding to the changes and transformations of cities in the academic sense.