A Drawing Story Spanning from Ghent to Urla: Jam Session Meetings
I have been teaching young people at university since 2015. Just like watching a child grow by learning to walk and talk, closely following the process of young people learning the principles of design and developing their creativity gives me spiritual satisfaction beyond professional success.
This season, together with Mert Eren Toptaş, Özge Çetin, and Zeynep Nisa Cire, members of the Her Yer Kolektif (Everywhere Collective) composed of young artists from Izmir, we organized monthly free drawing gatherings called Jam Sessions. When we say Jam Session, you think of musicians getting together and improvising music, right? While in Ghent, I observed a group of independent illustrators meeting with musicians in a neighborhood bar to draw, then selling the labels and fanzines they produced at stands at the Les Voizines event, and even developing their ideas, with some being published by a European publishing house that published in French and Dutch. Especially with the closure of The Letter Art Gallery in the Kemeraltı Antiques Market, run by Nihan Karahan, which provided a space for young artists, I discovered that young people needed an "other space" (heterotopia) where they could showcase their work and interact with others.
Initially, as expected, the free drawing gatherings we held in the main Hi Journey studio were quiet. Over time, the young artists overcame their initial shyness and hesitation, and began producing work with their own materials. Some were finishing projects they had started, while others were sketching. Observing this interaction was valuable; I gradually found myself sketching them, the environment, and the conversations. While the young people were making discoveries through their own bodies and identities, I was transforming the visual diary I started at Dodo Bookstore into visual ethnography.
Most recently, on August 10, 2026, we held our free drawing gathering, a Jam Session, at Yutugud Studio and Guesthouse in Urla's old market area, a hub for the creative sector, thanks to the initiative of Mert Eren Toptaş from Her Yer Kolektif. The guesthouse, a historic house where artists can also stay and produce art in the winter, was partly a guesthouse, while the founder, Kaan Walsh, lived in the part facing the courtyard. The stable, formerly where camels were kept, had been creatively transformed into a spacious and comfortable studio. The stones on the floor, along with the large lemon tree found in the courtyards of old Mediterranean houses, reminded us of our connection to the past. From the moment we met, the moment's feelings and thoughts, like the unhurried waters of the Menderes River, flowed naturally from our pens and paints onto the large sheet of paper fixed to the table. Rosalie Aleksandra's project in an abandoned and hidden village in Balıklıova, Eylül's career shaped by the contrasts of Trabzon and Muğla, beginning in Eskişehir and continuing in Urla, and the hopes, experiences and desires of the artists from Her Yer Kolektif all showed that we were all on a journey. We briefly intersected on the same paper, transforming our journey into a shared experience, recording a new summer experience.
As the event ended, I learned that Kaan Walsh is a graphic designer with connections to musicians. Coincidentally, two cosmopolitan musicians from New York visited the Jam Session. Mr. Walsh celebrated our gathering in the courtyard, offering local treats of figs, tomatoes, grapes, and local white wine. We raised our glasses to solidarity and creativity.
Art festivals and trade fairs are absolutely essential for artists to increase their visibility, build their brands, earn money, and make business connections. Today, municipalities, prefectures, ministries and the private sector are starting to give opportunities to young artists, although primarily focusing on well-known artists. In the context of classical music, one of the best examples of this is the Molyvos International Music Festival in Mytilene. I will be sharing more about this festival with you next week.
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