Carried out by Mordem Sanat between 15 April and 3 December 2019 in bussed village schools in central Diyarbakır and its districts, and supported by Kültür İçin Alan (Space for Culture), the “Köyümüze Şenlik Geldi” (A Festival Has Come to Our Village) project aimed to reach children with no access to the arts through theatre and puppetry workshops. The seven-and-a-half-month project was carried out in three stages: in the first stage, a children’s play titled “Eko Güneş Yolculuğunda” (Eko on the Journey of the Sun) was created; in the second stage, children in the city were reached through 8 performances; and in the third stage, the play was staged in villages and puppetry workshops were held.
Over the course of the project, 2,678 children were reached. 347 children took an active part in the puppet-making workshops. The project enabled children deprived of the arts to engage with theatre in creative and participatory ways. Making their puppets with their own hands, the children used their imagination around themes of recycling and climate to present mini performances. This process boosted the children’s self-confidence, contributed to their socialisation and introduced them to forms of artistic expression.
A strong local communication network was built around the project. Made up of teachers and school principals, this network both facilitated coordination throughout the project and developed lasting relationships for future projects. For example, the performance at Çaytepe Secondary School mobilised other school principals in the area and brought new participants into the project. Administrative obstacles encountered in the Hani district were overcome thanks to teachers’ initiative, paving the way for sustainable collaborations.
The experience gained during the project showed that budget constraints limited the duration of the workshops, but that with proper planning and partnerships such projects can be sustained in much greater depth. The participating children’s environmental awareness, love of art and creativity were nurtured. The fact that, after the project, some children took the initiative to perform theatre and make puppets in their own communities demonstrated the project’s multiplier effect.