Action Club, an initiative by Gizem N. Oktay, 2018, Yeldegirmeni

Hosted by CIRCUIT.

About
Circuit's Action Club delves into the conflict between man and nature, through books and action. It is for those interested to read, write, and discuss issues relating to ecology, genre, class and racial conflicts, and sustainability, as well as for those seeking collective and community solutions.  

Permaculture Workshop by Permaculture Designer Shaul Shaham, 2017, Yeldegirmeni

CIRCUIT regularly collaborated with EK BIC YE IC - a permaculture centre with a similar vision - sharing of knowledge and resources where possible.

EK BIC YE IC is a permaculture centre and a cafe that applies various urban farming techniques along with a learning environment. EBYI focuses on sustainable production and consumption.

About
These permaculture series will delve into essentials of urban food growing, including how to start seeds, vegetative propagation, companion planting, designing guilds and how to save seeds as well as the concept of composting, soil checking, companion planting, and relative location.

CIRCUIT used creative educational models to promote alternative ways of learning, to provide opportunities for its community to access a variety of education and learning systems and to create a platform where exchange of knowledge can take place.

Sprouts and Microgreens Workshop led by Permaculture Designer Shaul Shaham and İdil Akdos, 2017, Yeldegirmeni

CIRCUIT regularly collaborated with EKBICYEIC - a permaculture centre with a similar vision - sharing of knowledge and resources where possible.
EKBICYEIC is a permaculture centre and a cafe that applies various urban farming techniques  along with a learning environment. EBYI focuses on sustainable production and consumption.

About
The workshop invited participants to discover the health secrets of sprouts, how to make them in your own kitchen, which seeds are the tastiest and easiest to grow, how to mix sprout recipes and to make your own sprouting kit.

CIRCUIT used creative educational models to promote alternative ways of learning, to provide opportunities for its community to access a variety of education and learning systems and to create a platform where exchange of knowledge can take place.

Indoor Planting Workshops led by Ahu Toksoz Kopan, 2017-2018

Hosted and organised in collaboration with CIRCUIT, weekly.

CIRCUIT used creative educational models to promote alternative ways of learning, to provide opportunities for its community to access a variety of education and learning systems and to create a platform where exchange of knowledge can take place.

Eco-printing and Eco-dying Workshops led by Textile Designer AslI Smith, 2017, Yeldegirmeni

CIRCUIT hosted and organised these workshops.

About
In this workshop, students will learn about plants, materials and the bundling process, and how to create eco-prints on silk fabric.

CIRCUIT uses creative educational models to promote alternative ways of learning, to provide opportunities for its community to access a variety of education and learning systems and to create a platform where exchange of knowledge can take place.

Mask-making Workshops [papier mache, eco-friendly, recycled materials] led by Artist Cécile Alexandre, 2017, Yeldegirmeni

Hosted and organized in collaboration with CIRCUIT.

CIRCUIT used creative educational models to promote alternative ways of learning, to provide opportunities for its community to access a variety of education and learning systems and to create a platform where exchange of knowledge can take place.

Fine Arts Classes led by Artist Gabrielle Reeves, 2015-2017, Cukurcuma & Yeldegirmeni

Hosted and organised in collaboration with CIRCUIT, weekly.

About
Fine Arts classes included a variety of printmaking, figure drawing with a live model, charcoal, pastel drawing, and watercolour.

CIRCUIT uses creative educational models to promote alternative ways of learning, to provide opportunities for its community to access a variety of education and learning systems and to create a platform where exchange of knowledge can take place.

Ye-şil-len-dir-e-lim curated by Sinem Sayar, Cansu Yetişgin & Jessica Sim, 2017-2018, Yeldeğirmeni

Hosted and supported by CIRCUIT. This project is initiated by Jessica Sim upon receipt of Action Grant - support from Creative Climate Leadership programme which is co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union.

CCL is a new programme for artists and cultural professionals to explore the cultural dimensions of climate change, and take action with impact, creativity and resilience. The programme is coordinated by Julie's Bicycle and supported by Creative Europe.

About
Ye-şil-len-dir-e-lim is a community project focused on building relationships with one other and with our environments, consisting of a series of workshops and a pop-up exhibition. The project aims to create space for people to come together, share their experiences about living in the city, and work together to expand Istanbul’s green community. 

Collaborative Projects and Exhibitions is one of the formats for CIRCUIT to engage its community within its processes succeeding in “sustainable creativity” and also to invite an exchange of resources or knowledge.

Museum of Garbage: An Exhibition of Waste in Istanbul by FLYING Roots, 2015, Cukurcuma

The project was partially funded by European Cultural Foundation, DAAD and UdK Berlin.

FLYING roots: [Olivia Traut, Jessica Sim], Paul Brownlee, Stephanie Kuhlmann, Judith Jung, Gabrielle Reeves.

About
The MUSEUM OF GARBAGE is an initiative by a curatorial collective, FLYING roots, bringing thrown-away items from the streets and households of Istanbul, into the space of the gallery. The exhibition was composed of piles, mappings, and assemblages of waste-objects, and also included a pop-up cafe and conversation hub. It derived from a concern for the ecology of waste management in Istanbul and a questioning of the role of the individual consumer within this complexity. Objects of waste - compostables, one-time-usables, and also reusables - change in functionality and value. They are objects produced, consumed and disposed - often forgotten, sometimes collected, and eventually transformed. The MUSEUM OF GARBAGE was a re-positioning of waste-items, gathered from the streets of Çukurcuma and housed in the space of a gallery. Changing the context, does not necessarily transform the items into a purely aesthetic form to be perceived as such, but rather bears the chance for them to be viewed from a different perspective, promoting a re-contemplation of their nature, use and consumption.

At the exhibition, visitors found themselves among carefully-stacked piles of things dis-posed, a mapping of Çukurcuma’s re-collected street-litter, and three-dimensional visualisations revealing the lives and cycles of expended items. Visitors were also invited to make their own contributions, together creating a momentary archive of the city’s discarded pieces.

Collaborative Art Projects is one of the formats for CIRCUIT to engage its community within its processes succeeding in “sustainable creativity” and also to invite an exchange of resources or knowledge.

City Paste, curated by Paul Brownlee, Gabrielle Reeves, & Jessica Sim, 2016, Çukurcuma

Hosted and curated by CIRCUIT’s artistic team.

About
City Paste looks at change in Istanbul, exploring development that is wanted and unwanted, seen and unseen. The broader exhibition reflects on how such changes affect people's lives, for better or worse, and feelings of agency in these changes. A major focus of the exhibition is on the ever evolving district of Karaköy, featuring paintings from Gabrielle Reeves. Her works view the area's development through some of the city's most populous residents: seagulls, fish, and concrete. The installation will include painting, drawing, graphics, and collage.

Collaborative Art Projects is one of the formats for CIRCUIT to engage its community within its processes succeeding in “sustainable creativity” and also to invite an exchange of resources or knowledge.

Tupperware Dinners by CIRCUIT, 2015-2018, Çukurcuma & Yeldegirmeni

Hosted and organised by CIRCUIT, monthly.

About
Tupperware Dinners invited people to gather around food, by preparing or buying something to share. Those attending were asked to bring their dish in reusable packaging, avoiding 'throw away', one-time-use packaging, such as plastic bags and dishes.

Community Events aims to connect people, create and support initiatives, facilitate collaborations, raise awareness, and inspire activism.

Art and Design Bazaars initiated and led by Chara Loka, Paul Brownlee & Ülkü Cağlayan, 2015-2017, Çukurcuma & Yeldeğirmeni

Hosted and organised by CIRCUIT, seasonally / Hosted and organised, seasonally, by CIRCUIT

About
The bazaars not only accommodated brands but also creative persons who were interested in this mission.
In line with CIRCUIT’s mission of Sustainable Creativity, the bazaars maintain awareness on mindful design and sustainable packaging. This includes upcycled and/or recycled goods, products designed with natural materials, second hands and vegetarian and vegan snacks. The Bazaars not only accommodates brands but also creative and productive persons who have interest in this mission.

Community Events aims to connect people, create and support initiatives, facilitate collaborations, raise awareness, and inspire activism.

Documentary Nights, led by Anastasia Laukkanen, Film Selection by SYTV, 2016-2017, Çukurcuma & Yeldeğiirmeni.

Hosted and organized in collaboration with CIRCUIT, monthly.

Community Events aims to connect people, create and support initiatives, facilitate collaborations, raise awareness, and inspire activism.

Launch Event & Installation by CIRCUIT & Connect One Threads team members, 2016, Çukurcuma

CIRCUIT co-created exhibition material and collaboratively hosted this social impact launch event for COT’s Indiegogo Campaign.

Connect One Threads
Collaborates with the conscious and creative to make clothing that is good for the world. From international artists to conscious designers, organic farmers to ethical producers, COT connects with world citizens to create sustainable fashion.

About
Visitors were invited to:
- See, touch and feel COT’s first line of 100% Turkish-made organic cotton shirts;
- Engage with the international artists who designed COT shirts via social media;
- Learn about the global issues surrounding the clothing industry, and the solutions, so that we can start to change them;
- Support COT’s Indiegogo Campaign and help spread the word about Connect One Threads.
The event included an interactive gallery where visitors could see what COT is all about.

Community Events aims to connect people, create and support initiatives, facilitate collaborations, raise awareness, and inspire activism.

Installation & Launch Event, Fashion Revolution Turkey, 2016, Cukurcuma

The first event of “Fashion Revolution Turkey”, hosted by CIRCUIT.

About
Fashion Revolution is a global movement bringing awareness to where our clothes come from and the precarious conditions of the fashion industry. Fashion Revolution believes in a fashion industry that values people, the environment, creativity and profit in equal measure. Fashion Revolution runs all year long.

Community Events aims to connect people, create and support initiatives, facilitate collaborations, raise awareness, and inspire activism.

- IICS [Istanbul International Community School] Educational Workshop, 2016-2017
- ENKA | Educational Workshop, 2017
- Participation at Güzel Bir Gün Festival as one of the social responsible projects , 2016
- PAWI Talk [Professional American Women in Istanbul], 2016
- Participation at Cevre Festivali, organised by Municipality of Kadıköy, 2017
- Presentation about Alternative Uses of Space, Department of Architecture Bilgi University, Istanbul 2017

Lifestyle Store, Events & "Breath-house", created/led by Ülkü Cağlayan, 2013-2015, Çukurcuma

About
CIRCUIT was born from an eagerness to creatively embody sustainable living. The idea first appeared in June 2013 and then In December 2013 it took the form of a physical space in Çukurcuma, Istanbul. Founded by Ülkü Çağlayan under the name of Closet Circuit.
During its first stage, Closet Circuit opened its doors as a sustainable lifestyle store and “Nefeshane” or "Breath-house". The store included second-hand clothing, upcycled, and environmentally friendly products, collected and selected by Ülkü. The "Nefeshane" was also used by Ülkü to facilitate breath sessions and other like events, such as light therapy with kaleidoscopes.