12 international ESC volunteers from Armenia, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Ukraine and Russia gathered in Bodrum, Turkey as a part of a short-term “Let Your Creativity Out” project, organized by Bodrum Dance Club association.
We came here not only as socially proactive youth, but also as artists to express our concerns about environmental issues by means of art. With different backgrounds and skills, we managed to build a superteam to draw both international and local attention to the problem of wildfires. Read the impressions of each participant below.
Привет, я Вадим из России, делюсь с вами своими впечатлениями о проекте ESC Bodrum LandArt. Для меня это был первый опыт участия в международном проекте.
Этот опыт стал для меня глотком свежего воздуха. Участники данного проекта – очень талантливые ребята из разных стран. Мне очень нравится проводить с ними время: веселиться, играть, учиться, ходить на экскурсии и даже просто болтать. Каждый день мы узнавали друг о друге что-то новое и непрерывно учились друг у друга.
В рамках данного проекта открываются большие возможности для того, чтобы прокачать себя и поделиться своим опытом с другими. Это что-то невероятное!
Огромным бонусом подобного проекта является путешествие в новую страну и возможность узнать её с разных сторон. За все время мы смогли побывать в центре Бодрума, а также пожить в посёлке под названием Cocertme. Ещё мы путешествовали по интересным местам города – Тургутрейс, бухта Аквариум и центральный базар. Именно благодаря этому мы познакомились с такой разной Турцией.
Хочу выразить огромную благодарность организаторам-менторам проекта за постоянную поддержку и понимание, вы всегда были рядом, мы вас очень любим! Мы обязательно ещё встретимся!
Przeżycie wolontariatu z wielokulturowym zespołem w obcym kraju jest niesamowitym doświadczeniem ponieważ codziennie poznajemy zwyczaje i kulturę ludzi nas otaczających. Przez równo miesiąc wraz z wspaniałymi wolontariuszami mieliśmy przyjemność odwiedzić trzy miejsca na terenie Turcji Gümbet, Çökertme oraz Bodrum. W każdej z trzech lokalizacji można było odczuć niesamowita energię od otaczających nas ludzi. W pierwszym tygodniu mieliśmy możliwość nauczenia się komunikacji, tworzenia zespołu, wychodzenia ze swojej strefy komfortu oraz dużo innych rozwijających zagadnień.
Wszytko po to by móc wykorzystać je w prawdziwym życiu. Mając wiedzę zdobytą podczas zajęć zaczęliśmy pracować nad projektem w miejscowości cokartme, dotkniętą pożarami. Naszym głównym celem było przedstawienie problemu destruktywnego działania człowieka wobec środowiska przy użyciu materiałów znalezionych w miejscu dotkniętym pożarem. Wspólnymi siłami zaprojektowaliśmy oraz wykonaliśmy pięć instalacji artystycznych wraz z dekoracjami obrazujący główny problem wystawy. Przez ponad dziesięć dni pracowalismy nad skończeniem naszego projektu, który zakończył się sukcesem.
W tak krótkim czasie nasza dwunastoosobowa grupa, wraz z pomocą mentorów stworzyła niesamowity Land Art. Miesiąc w Turcji nie tylko dał mi możliwość rozwinięcia artystycznych i kreatywnych aspektów projektu ale także dał mi szansę poznania cudownych ludzi. Przede wszystkim miałam okazję zdobywać wiedzę od każdego otaczającego mnie wolontariusza, ich uprzejmość i pomoc ułatwiała każdą cięższa chwilę.
Gdybym miała okazję skorzystać jeszcze raz z wolontariatu bez zastanowienia bym ją wykorzystała. Trudno opisać emocje, które towarzyszyły mi przez cały projekt ale było to jedno z bardziej niesamowitych doznań w moim życiu. Doświadczenie zmieniające życie.
Всем привет, меня зовут Лиза (Россия, Новосибирск). Хочу рассказать вам о том, как прошло моё первое ESC приключение.
Началось всё в августе, когда совершенно случайно я узнала о волонтерском проекте в Турции. Не раздумывая ни минуты я поспешила на сайт проекта, ознакомилась с информацией и отправила заявку. Впереди меня ждал целый месяц переживаний на тему: примут ли меня для участия в проекте. И вот этот волшебный день настал – письмо на почту с текстом: «Вас отобрали на проект в Турцию, в Бодрум», УРАААА!
Сборы, общение с отправляющей и встречающей стороной, покупка билетов, изучение Турции и её особенностей на просторах интернета, общение с участниками подобных проектов и т.д. И уже первого октября я прилетаю в Бодрум, и начинается моя удивительная история ESC Bodrum Land art.
Первая неделя была посвящена знакомству с организаторами, участниками, Турцией, с традициями и особенностями стран участников (их, кстати, 7 – Россия, Украина, Португалия, Литва, Польша, Венгрия, Армения). Ежедневно в митинг комнате у нас проходили занятия по изучению турецкого языка, мы много играли и веселились, а также погрузились в тему командообразования, именно эти знания помогали нам организовать себя и друг друга во время всего проекта.
Далее мы разделились на группы – коммуникации, художники и социальные медиа, и приступили к подготовке Ленд-арт проекта. Прописывали контент-план, придумывали перформансы, рисовали эскизы, собирали материалы для объектов, общались с местными жителями и ещё много чего интересного.
На протяжении следующих 10 дней мы всей командой создавали Лэнд-арт. Работа с ветками, камнями, листвой, цветами, мусором и даже гранатами! По итогу состоялась большая выставка для всех гостей BodrumCup, УРА!
Оставшиеся дня проекта мы могли посвятить анализу ленд-арта, написанию статей, общению друг с другом и экскурсиям по необычным и красивейшим местам Турции!
Хочу сказать огромное спасибо всем организаторам. Спасибо, что я побывала в этой сказке! С нетерпением жду встреч со всеми.
Arriving to Bodrum on the 1st of October as one of the participants of this month-long EVS project, I definitely did not expect the sort of excitement and hard work I experienced throughout these weeks. The diverse group of 12 volunteers from 7 different countries has overcome multiple obstacles including language barriers, time pressure and logistical difficulties and still managed to have the time of their life.
The project was clearly divided to three separate parts that couldn’t be more different. Even though we knew we will have to relocate three times to different accommodations at different locations, no one thought that these distinct parts would feel like three different projects. From our start in a five-star hotel, where our private beach and all-inclusive restaurant was loud from the early 2000s pop music coming from the bars on the streets of Gümbet, it was a sharp change of scenery to move to the cosy Cökertme where our neighbour was the sea and we knew the whole town after two days. The last week of the project we spent in the centre of Bodrum, reflecting on our work but ready for new adventures.
After the first 10 days away from nature, in the bubble of consumerism and learning about group dynamics theories, it was an interesting contrast to experience our first crises and to try to implement these advises on communication and team work a few days later covered in sweat and ashes after chopping trees, collecting sticks and carrying branches all day. Still, the chill atmosphere of the first part and the exhaustment of the second part are both remembered as bringing us closer. Compared to the group of strangers that met the first time in the meeting room of the hotel at the beginning, our arrival back to Bodrum was rather as a team full of good memories about both the good and the bad.
At the end we look back at this month as a unique experience that cannot be compared to anything, saw places and participated in events we never thought we will see or do. We eat at a funeral we befriended locals without a common language and adopted the girl boss dog from the street. Cultural differences and language difficulties were dissolved and we parted as good friends who are now richer with 11 more people and their experiences from all around the world.
Hello, everyone. My name is Kseniia, I came from Ukraine to Bodrum, in order to participate in my first in life ESC project. I really appreciate that I gained my first volunteering experience right there.
I never took part in international volunteering opportunities before, but when I got to know about Let your creativity out project, I decided It would be a chance for me to take an environmental action in real-time conditions. The goals and concept of the project hooked me immediately. I investigated the topic of environmental awareness for more than half a year as a part of my diploma at media department.
First week of the project was super intensive for us it terms of socializing trainings and communication. Although during the first days we didn`t realize exactly what land art is, I understood that there was a nice team with a variety of opinions and ideas in minds. During the first week our mentors Berat, Selin, Ergün and Ezgi were like lifeboats who rescued us in case of turbulence. One of the best things at this project was that you could really feel free to reflect things were going on around you and to share your concerns with mentors, especially at the beginning of the project. That was probably a moment, when I realized that apart from the final outcome and volunteering tasks, such ESC opportunities are created for self-education, personal growth and interrelation.
Next 10 days we spent in our exhibition location, in a very authentic, but unfortunately harsh damaged by fires village Çökertme. I had a feeling of diving into parallel reality, a mean joke… Somewhere else people were living carefree, having fun and joy, but never knowing what happened exactly in that place. I really adore residents of Çökertme, wondering how they kept going, living with a smile on their tired from disaster faces. Nice people from there motivated me to contribute more efforts and energy into building catchy images of installations we had come up with in the end of the first week. The purpose was to draw attention of people to the problem of wildfires and environmental pollution through conceptual art.
Talking about techniques of land art or earth art, which means totally eco-friendly conception of art creation, working on specific objects every mini-group of volunteers could relate to a person, who had a bit more competences in artistic sense. In general, we had people with more experience in art and those, who could cover the process in terms of media. I belonged to a second sub-group and above it, also was helping with land art, was like eyes and ears of the project with my colleagues. We were taking pictures of guys, shooting reportages for social media, creating posters and posts, generated ideas for social campaigns.
Till the day of exhibition, the work had been done. In frames of Bodrum Cup we presented our live land art gallery, called RISING FROM THE ASHES, to locals and guests, who came by the sea on boats. One of the main objects GLOWING served like a scene for a well-known pianist who performed jazz behind the white piano to support the event. It was really meaningful for us, because we could draw more attention to the problem, due to the press coverage. This day I spent behind the scenes shooting everything and everyone for my documentary reportage. I adore collecting moments and memories.
Big thanks to super volunteers team and especially to our mentors for such nice and socially important opportunity!
When I arrived to Bodrum on the 1st of October I had no idea that this will be one of the best and most memorable month of my life. I have lived abroad and participated in different international programs before, but throughout the “Let Your Creativity Out” project I had the chance to experience and learn things I never thought I would.
I will never forget the first time when we arrived to the area which was destroyed by the forest fires, the tears in everyone’s eyes when looking at burnt trees and the feeling in my chest when I thought about all the lives affected by the catastrophe.
During the days we lived in the small and cosy village of Çökertme, we had the chance to become part of the lives of the locals, we had meaningful conversations without words, we learnt to cook Turkish dishes from the always cheerful ladies of the restaurant, and we even got invited to a dinner after a funeral. Seeing how happy and grateful these people were for the work we do and how much they appreciate our efforts to raise attention made the experience both unforgettable and magical.
It was beyond amazing to realize that I am able to create meaningful art out of what I find on the ground, to have hours long conversations with people with no common language, to taste foods I’ve never tried before and to learn something new every day from all the talented people of the project.
The 12 strangers that I met in Gümbet, first became my partners during the Turkish classes and team buildings, later we became “colleagues” in packing stones, chopping wood and creating sculptures and by the end of October we left as life- long friends who made a pact to meet in Turkey year after year.
My name is Maria, I am a Portuguese girl with 25 years old and I wanted to go abroad to do volunter work for a long time, but I never expected I would find an opportunity so perfect for me as this one.
The “Let your creativity out” project, it was one of the best experiences I’ve had in my life and I am so glad I decided to apply for it. This project consisted on doing a Land Art Exhibition while creating awareness about environmental issues and the wildfires that took place in the site where we worked. This month in Bodrum was magical – since the first days with meetings, Turkish classes and learning all about the project and communication skills until the hard work in Çökertme and the land art itself – every single moment taught me a lesson and made me a better person. In one month I was accommodated in three different places- in Gumbet, Çokertme and Bodrum city centre – each of this places was amazing in its own way: the first one gave me amazing sunsets and a great spot to start meeting everyone that took part in the project, the second one was perfect for those who love small seaside villages, being involved with the local community and enjoy some peace and quiet, the third one was all about feeling the city and exploring around bodrum.
Added to this amazing locations, I had the pleasure to work and learn from amazing people, my mentors and organisers were incredible the whole time and really made this challenge much easier for me, they were always kind and always making sure everything was perfect for everyone, I feel really lucky to have them in my life. The project was so interesting for me because I’m very passionate about art and I’m very interested in participating in everything that concerns the planet, as are this kinds of environmental actions. I’m always eager to help protec the planet and promote an eco-friendly lifestyle.
Added to that it was the perfect opportunity for me to create art with a meaning, as an artist I am obviously always looking for new ways to work and to create and it was the first time I did land art in my life – loved it! After finishing the artistic work we had a great exhibition at the same time as bodrum cup was happening, that brought a lot of people to the land art site and there was even a piano concert, I felt that our work was really appreciated and understood by the ones who saw it, it made me really happy to see everyone proud of the important work we did there.
I have counteless reasons why I’m glad this happened but the most important one is definitely the fantastic volunteers I met there: different people together with one common goal: to learn, to help, to do art, to take care of each other – i learned so much from everyone of them and I will always remember them and how they make me have a little more faith in the humanity.
Бодрум.. 2021год.. #ландарт.. Природа вдохновляет писателей создавать свои лучшие стихи и рассказы. Она двигает кистью художника и рукой скульптора, которая с любовью и поклонением запечатляет часть ее в своих работах… И вот мы, волонтёры, приехали в Бодрум, чтобы оставить частичку себя… наша цель сделать мир вокруг лучше!!!
Привет всем! Я, Рита из Армении и мои друзья из разных стран (Россия, Литва, Украина, Венгрия, Португалия , Польша) встретились в Бодруме, и сделали лэнд арт объекты. В этом году тема проекта – пожары в Турции. Мы постарались вдохнуть новую жизнь, в ответ слышали слова благодарности и слезы радости!!!
Привет! Меня зовут Ксения. Я архитектор из России. Мне 28 лет и это мой первый волонтерский проект заграницей.
Я искала волонтерские проекты программы ESC в течение некоторого времени. Я считаю, что эта программа – очень удачный вариант для первого опыта жизни и работы заграницей. И этот проект для меня особенный, т к творческие проекты встречаются не так уж часто. Я попала на него со второй попытки: впервые я отправляла заявку в марте 2020. И сейчас я счастлива быть здесь.
Этот проект для меня в первую очередь про командную работу. Месяц назад я познакомилась с 11 новыми людьми. И в течение проекта нужно было узнать друг друга и научиться работать вместе. Я впервые на проекте, где рабочий язык – английский. И это оказалось не так просто, хотя у меня хороший уровень английского. Потребовалось время, чтобы стать настоящей командой. Но я рада, что мы прошли через все и сделали нашу работу. Я благодарна нашим менторам за тренинг в начале проекта и разговоры и поддержку в ходе работы. Я чувствую, что этот опыт сделал меня сильнее и увереннее. И я очень хочу и дальше участвовать в подобных проектах.
Я чувствовала себя уверенно в отношении темы проекта. У меня не было опыта непосредственно в Ленд Арте. Но был опыт во флористике, дизайне и просто большой опыт работы руками. А отношение к теме выставки менялось в течение проекта. Лесные пожары в Турции перестали быть далёкой и непонятной темой. Невозможно остаться равнодушным, когда ты видишь реальных людей и их боль. Мне кажется, в течение проекта мы прожили это событие вместе с местными жителями.
И последнее, что хочу отметить, – это атмосфера радости и спокойствия, которая пронизывала весь проект. Несмотря на случавшиеся трудности, я постоянно наслаждалась нашим проектом. Даже когда мы делали самые простые вещи, вроде уборки территории и сбора материалов, мы были в тепле и окружены красивой природой. У нас было достаточно времени для общения. Я познакомилась с замечательными людьми, попробовала много нового для себя. И я уезжаю отдохнувшей, наполненной и полной решимости и дальше участвовать в подобных проектах.
Hi,
My name is Dasha. I am from St. Petersburg, Russia. I am an ecologist by profession, but all my life I deal with plants and decor from natural materials. Land Art always was my big passion. Two years ago I stumbled across the volunteer program Let’s your creativity out and it was just a wow for me! I’ve always dreamed of connecting ecology, floristry and Land Art together and could not believe that someone, somewhere in another country is thinking about the same thing. I immediately sent my application and soon got an invitation letter. But life made its adjustments, because of COVID 19 the project was closed barely had time to start. It was impossible to describe the regret.
But a miracle happened! Despite the rules of participation in the ESC projects, I was 30 years old again became a member of the project! For what a huge thank you to the amazing organizers (the host).
Now about the project. During the month of the project participants pass several stages, this team management and everything associated with teamwork, learning the Turkish language (one of my favorite parts), the most important part is the organization of the exhibition and the creation of Land Art. As well as social media work and all kinds of social activities, working with the public at large and specific groups such as school kids.
But the main aim is cultural exchange and the exchange of experiences and knowledge, so it’s much more important to be willing to learn and to try than to be a professional in Land Art.
This year our work was divided into 3 big sections and we lived in 3 different places which made each stage complete.
- The first 10 days we lived in a touristy part of Bodrum in a luxurious 5-star hotel with impeccable interior, which did not fit my idea of a volunteer’s life in general) These 10 days we got to know each other, with the culture of our countries, learned Turkish and studied much nuances of teamwork and organization in general. In our free time we enjoyed the sea and Turkish baklava.
- The second ten days as a separate big life. We have moved to a small village Çökertme in an hour’s drive from Bodrum. As the project is eco-oriented, the place was not chosen by chance. Çökertme was hit hard by the forest fires of 2021. And we wanted to use our art to bring more attention to the human element in this issue. The first couple of days we were finalizing ideas and sketches for the proposed Art Objects. As there were only 12 of us volunteers we decided to do only 3 big installations but in the end we did over 10 art objects.
For 8 days my team and I worked on one of the major installations Berning concert which later became the highlight of the concert of famous Turkish pianist Kerem Görsev at Bodrum cup 2021.
Оur installation was like a fire flame coming from two sides of a semi circle. For this, every day we were searching in the burnt forest for burnt remnants of trees of the right shape and size. Eight days of hard work, black faces and clothes lost forever, will live in my memory forever ❤
In addition to the incredible work done, in 10 days we made five large installations and five medium-sized Art objects, we organized an exhibition space in a large outdoor area, created a guide to the exhibition with Qr codes and a film about our work, with the help of 12 volunteers of different ages and experience. I’m very proud and admire all the guys,thanks to everyone for the incredible experience.
3. The last ten days are a gift for everyone,after active physical and mental work. We returned to Bodrum and settled in a quiet hotel in the center of the city. Here we analyze our experiences, share our impressions, summarize our results, carry out social work and finish the media project. During the project we have accumulated “free days”, which everyone spends at his discretion, some relaxing at the pool, some going to nearby towns or visiting museums. This is a time to enjoy the country, learn more about the traditions and spend some last minutes with your new friends before you leave.
Such a rich and very different month. Which I think changed each of us.
Huge thanks to my traveling organization and Bodrum dance club, for doing such an incredible job, and so help people to find themselves, start a new life, and just to meet new people and get a lot of emotions.
Thank you ❤
