Natural disasters such as earthquakes cause people a great deal of physical, psychological, economic and social harm. Without doubt, the most vulnerable group in a disaster-stricken community, whose daily routines come to a sudden end, is children. Because children who are only beginning to make sense of life are not yet mature enough to understand the damage and losses caused by disasters, it can take them a long time to overcome these effects. It is important to heal the physical and psychological damage and to strengthen once again the bonds children have with themselves, with other people and with life. It is not possible to see straight away the concrete results of support work carried out through art workshops to heal certain human emotions in children who have lost their sense of trust and to help them overcome what they have been through. However, we can say that the positive effects of all the activities carried out will emerge in the long term, at different stages of the children’s lives. Above all, we can see the healing effect of simply not leaving the disaster-affected community alone: even interacting and taking part in activities with different people within the flow of their daily lives leaves a positive mark on them.
Following the Maraş-centred earthquakes in 2023, we at the Mordem Art and Ecological Living Association began our work to provide psychosocial support to children affected by the disaster. We set out to reach children through art-based activities in order to reduce the effects of trauma, help them rebuild a sense of trust and strengthen their bonds with life. In this process, under the umbrella of the “Children’s Art Space Platform”, which we founded together with independent artists and organisations from different cities, we built a coordinated and sustainable support mechanism.
With the support of Mitost, from April 2023 onwards we organised puppet-making workshops, film screenings and creative games with children in many areas, above all Adıyaman and Maraş. Through workshops held in the Narlıkuyu, Balyan, Gömükan-Çamyurdu and K11 Container City areas of Adıyaman; in Narlı, Pazarcık, the Sümer neighbourhood and the Nurhak district of Maraş; in Serinyol, Hatay; and in Diyarbakır, a total of 1076 children were reached. The children were not only participants but also creators, bringing their imagination to the stage through short plays. In addition, at our stage in Diyarbakır, regular training in music, painting and drama was provided to earthquake-affected children, and 368 children were reached through 5 performances.
Kultuer Kolektif- Germany
5-10 July 2023-Through the Children’s Art Workshops micro-grant project
- Between 5 and 7 July 2023, 117 children took part in 3 workshops held in the Tomruksuyu, Harbiye and Mızraklı neighbourhoods of Hatay.
- Between 7 and 8 July 2023, puppet-making workshops were held with 293 children in Binevler, Gömükan-Çamyurdu and Şexler-Kuşakkaya in Adıyaman, and at K11 Container City in the town centre.
- Between 9 and 10 July 2023, puppet-making workshops were held with 137 children at Sümer Neighbourhood Secondary School and in the Nurhak district of Maraş.
In total, workshops were held with 547 children.
Art Workshops and Activities During and After the Earthquake:
- On the 2nd day after the 6 February earthquake, we issued an open call and opened our arts complex to those whose homes had been damaged and who had nowhere to go. After the building was inspected by an expert architect, it was declared safe. For 20 days, around 45 families got through the first days of the earthquake at our centre.
- On 13 February 2023, we began holding workshops with earthquake-affected children staying at the Diyarbakır stadium. As these workshops got under way, we sought support from experts to train our team, who would work in the field with children and young people after trauma, in Psychological First Aid, Abuse and rights.
- 20-25 February 2023: setting up a child-friendly play area in the Kesk tent area in Narlıkuyu, Adıyaman. The work in this area was carried out together with the Diyarbakır Child Rights-Focused Crisis Network. Over 4 days, a puppet-making workshop was held with 23 children aged 5-15. Throughout our stay, a children’s film was shown to the children every evening.
- On 23-24 February 2023, workshops were held with 180 children in the town of Balyan and the village of Binevler in Adıyaman.
- Given the vast size of the earthquake zone and the need for coordinated work, we took steps to set up the Children’s Art Space Platform. On 23 February, together with 43 organisations, we announced the platform with an open call to broaden solidarity, and on 6 March we held the platform’s first Zoom meeting with 75 organisations and 6 independent artists.
- With the platform’s experts, we held 4 training sessions on Psychological First Aid, Abuse and children’s rights. These sessions were shared more widely through video recordings.
- Since we were unable to continue working in the tent city in Diyarbakır, we began providing training in music, painting, creative dance and drama to earthquake-affected children at our stage. The workshops, which started with 12 people, were attended regularly by 43 children between March and June 2023. During this period, we staged 5 performances for earthquake-affected children at our stage and reached 368 children.
- Between March and July 2023, as part of the Elele project, we provided 4 different vocational training sessions for our team who would work in the field and for external participants. In this way, we strengthened our team technically for their work in the field.
- In April 2023, a 6-day field study was carried out to identify sites for the Platform’s Interaction tents, establish local partnerships and prepare a field report. During this study, workshops were held with children. The workshops were as follows:
- Dostlar Yerleşkesi-Suavi-Serinyol: a puppet-making workshop was held with 54 children aged 5-13.
- Kesk Coordination-Maraş-Narlı: a puppet-making workshop was held with 60 children aged 5-13. At the end of the workshop, the children performed mini puppet shows they had created with their own imagination.
- Pazarcık-Menderes Area: a puppet-making workshop was held with 72 children aged 5-13.
- On 4-7 April 2023, in partnership with 3 independent American artists, we held workshops on music, dance and improvisation at our stage with 28 earthquake-affected children who had taken refuge in the village of Peyas.
- Between October and December 2023, with the proceeds of the 4th SoloFest, we staged 3 performances for 240 children aged 5-13 in the Çınar district of Diyarbakır and the village of Gömükan in Adıyaman.
- Between 1 October and 31 December 2023, as part of the project “ACT – Artistic Freedom and the Child and Youth Perspective in the Arts in Türkiye”, the internships of 6 young people who had received Children’s and Youth Theatre trainer training were carried out through workshops held at 4 different sites in Adıyaman, Maraş and Hatay. 76 young people aged 14-17 took part in these workshops. The internship programme was supported by the Gülriz Sururi – Engin Cezzar Theatre Encouragement Award presented to Mordem Sanat by IKSV.