About Exhibition

About Us

“Identity 5.0” was designed as a unique production space where art and science, personal discovery and social transformation intersect. On this journey we embarked upon to learn, discover, and express ourselves, we aimed to open a new space by intertwining art and science.

The works in the exhibition are not just art pieces; they are parts of a collective narrative shaped across a wide spectrum ranging from artificial intelligence analyses to traditional craftsmanship, from urban memory to data analysis. These works address themes such as the acceptance of identity, the recognition of alienation, the search for belonging, and the tensions between technology and tradition.

Our goal is to ensure that art moves beyond being a space that appeals to a certain segment only in galleries. We aim for art to be carried to neighborhoods, villages, bus terminals, train stations, and airports, and for everyone to be included in this process. Meeting the audience with the visibility support of Paribu and the Istanbul Museum of Gender, this exhibition is the first step of the open space we created to re-understand, narrate, and collectively transform ourselves and our environment.

Coming Together and the Production Process

This project began with Aydanur Akkut bringing together five young artists from different disciplines and backgrounds, specifically consisting of NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) individuals aged 18-25. With Ayda’s approach, this process was positioned not merely as an event where works are selected and exhibited, but as a practice of collective production, dialogue, empowerment, and solidarity.

The production process took shape around the “Identity 5.0 Exhibition” with the “we create lab” team. At the foundation of this process lies the idea of viewing identity not as a fixed structure, but as “a layered and fragmented whole intertwining like spirals.” Treating every experience and every breaking point as a “data set,” the artists shared their personal breaking points, identity experiences, and social observations with each other in workshops and meetings.

This sharing served the formation of collective meaning. With the principle of “we tried, we failed, we tried again” and learning from one another, the participants expressed their own stories through artistic and technological methods. The works emerging in different mediums such as video installation, photography, and craftsmanship reflect both personal transformation and the dimensions of fragility and resilience of identity.

Artists

Aydanur AKKUT (she/they)
Experimental Artist

Born in 2000 in İzmir. She is an engineer and data analyst. Her work encompasses subjects such as data analysis, the digitization of production processes, and the adaptation of artificial intelligence into creative processes.
She is closely interested in intersectional activism. She explores themes of collective memory, belonging, and empathy, departing from individual experience. She is the founder and curator of the Identity 5.0 Exhibition. She aims to design multidisciplinary spaces that encourage the participation of individuals and communities in creative processes.

Batuhan AYSAN (he/they)
Social Impact Artist

Born in 2002 in Karaman, Turkey. Graduated from Darüşşafaka High School. Their artistic practice focuses on themes of social impact and empathy.
They center their work on upcycling, hands-on creation, and storytelling through objects. Their projects explore design-based thinking, visual storytelling, and sustainability.
They actively volunteer with numerous non-governmental organizations and play a key role in community-based creative processes.
Recently, they have been collaborating with municipalities and universities to organize sustainability-themed workshops and educational activities.

İzem Ayşegül Topal
Director / Cinema

Born in Ankara in 1999. Graduated from the Department of Psychology at Okan University. Since 2020, has been working as an intern in a neuro-modulation project led by Dr. Maria Veldhuizen from Yale University School of Medicine and supported by TÜBİTAK.
Wrote and directed the debut short film, Modem, which was sold to BluTV in 2021. Studied cinema at Okan University between 2020 and 2022.
Began a second undergraduate degree in the Opera Department at Istanbul University State Conservatory in 2023.
She was accepted into the Cinema Master’s Program at Bilgi University in 2024. In the same year, participated in various symposiums as a speaker and shared research on short horror films. Currently continues to seek funding for research and film projects. Topal’s diverse background in psychology, music, filmmaking, and neuro-modulation demonstrates a multidisciplinary approach and a curiosity for exploring the human experience.

Sevde DUMAN (they/them)
Multidisciplinary Artist

They were born in 2002 in Kocaeli. They are a translator and an artist. They see art as a means of self-expression. They pursue an art practice that combines multiple disciplines, creating works using both digital and traditional techniques.
In their work, they refrain from gender roles, and they prioritize aesthetics and emotions. Through art, they aim to connect with others who feel the same way and create an emotional bond with them.
Although they are a translator, they chose to focus on their passion, art, as they could not find enough support for it due to the molds imposed by society.

Kader BARIŞ
Artist

Born in 1999 in Van. A mechanical engineer, currently working as a process development engineer at a printing house. Interested in art; specifically holds a strong passion for poetry and the violin.
Views art as a way to explore the self and the inner world. At the same time, uses art as a tool to express thoughts on social issues. Is interested in individual and social awareness work and combines efforts in this field with art.