As part of the “Washing the River with Art” project implemented in cooperation with the Baksı Culture and Arts Foundation and Bocchi, colorful and entertaining art products created by children with the waste they collected from the Çoruh River began to be exhibited at the Baksı Museum.
The children of Bayburt, who teamed up to clean the Coruh, one of the fastest and deepest rivers in the world, turned the waste they collected into interesting works of art, accompanied by trainers. With the contributions of Bayburt Governorship, Bayburt Municipality, Bayburt University, and Istanbul Painting and Sculpture Museum, the exhibition consisting of works designed by children was opened with a ceremony held at the Baksı Museum on 1 September. The exhibition will be open to the public until the end of October.
“Washing the River with Art” project was carried out to draw attention to the issue of human-created pollution in freshwater resources and to raise environmental awareness in children. In the first step of the project, a total of 100 children from 10 secondary schools across Bayburt collected the wastes in and around the Çoruh River. Volunteers from various NGOs such as the Bayburt Women’s Association, the Science Spreading Society, Kızılay Society, the Tema Foundation, and the Turkish Green Crescent Society accompanied the children.
The wastes collected from Bayburt, the source of the Çoruh River, that flows through Erzurum and Artvin from Georgia to the Black Sea, were collected under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Hüsamettin Koçan and Baksı Museum teams, and were transformed into works of art through workshops. Within the scope of the “Washing the River with Art” project, which encourages finding creative solutions to environmental problems through art, 20 designs produced by 20 children selected from among the students participating in the waste collection activities will be exhibited in Istanbul after Bayburt. The project will continue with the participation of children in cities where other rivers of Turkey pass from year to year.
“Art should be included in environmental education…”
In the opening speech of the exhibition, Prof. Dr. Hüsamettin Koçan, the Founder of Baksı Culture and Art Foundation and Baksı Museum stated that the inclusion of art in environmental education will make significant contributions to the solution of ecological problems and said, “The rapid change in our world seriously threatens the relationship between life, nature and people. People now need to lead a life more in harmony with the nature in which they live. In fact, rivers are born into life very pure and radiant, like sparkling children. Today, rapid transformation, rapid urbanization, incalculable industrialization and concentration of personal traffic are destroying this radiance and clarity. With this radiance and clarity, life also disappears.
For us, Washing the River with Art is a project of hope. Because it has been handed over to children who are the hope of the future. Because, in our rapidly changing world, it set out with the ideal of transforming the polluted nature and increasingly shallow cultural life and creating a more livable world. Turning this project into one of the victories we will leave for the future will be possible with the joint effort of all of us.”
Bocchi General Manager Serkan Ak, who stated that they are happy to be the idea partner and sponsor of the project, said that as a brand identified with design, color and innovation, their production journey started with earth, water and fire, and implemented environmentally friendly, recyclable policies in all production processes: “We are aware that we have a great responsibility to these elements, to which we owe our existence. This awareness and our belief in the transformative power of art combined our path with the Baksı Museum and our esteemed teacher Hüsamettin Koçan, and the project “Washing the River with Art” was born. We wanted to use the possibilities offered by art to develop environmental awareness in our children. We think that combining environmental education and arts education will enable people to adopt a sustainable life and look to the future with hope.”