BACKGROUND

After the 6 February 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquakes, with an intensive migration from the earthquake zone to Çanakkale, it is known that psychosocial support activities are carried out in many regions. Although expressive activities provide new ways to understand individuals who face physical, emotional, and cognitive difficulties and provide new ways for individuals to express themselves; it was seen that the disaster psychology and psychological first aid dimension were missing in these rapidly planned activities. For this reason, there is a need for activities to create a safe space for children and their families affected by the earthquake and to increase communication and interaction between people who are affected by earthquake and the city of Çanakkale and Çanakkale residents.

PROJECT GOALS

• Trainer training about the basic disaster psychology and psychological first aid skills will be organized with 50 artists/trainers.
• 50 workshops will be organized in different art branches (painting, ceramics, sculpture, music, dance, etc.) for 200 children aged 6-9, 10-14, 14-18.
• Three events (exhibition-performance-recital) will be organized, featuring the workshop outputs and the productions of the artists who organized the workshops.
• 4 cultural tours will be organized to introduce the cultural, historical, and natural values of Çanakkale.

PROJECT RESULTS

• 33 artists received art-based psychosocial support training and developed 20 original art workshop formats.
• A total of 73 children participated in 54 different art workshops such as sculpture, photography, painting, music, art with waste materials.
• 2 cultural tours and 1 picnic were held with the participation of 81 parents and children.
• The 1-week exhibition where the workshop outputs were exhibited was visited by 786 people.
• Information and guidelines on how the workshops were implemented were compiled in a brochure and on the https://www.canakkalebienali.com/merhaba-sanat/ web page.

Testimonials