Her Yerde Sanat Derneği

Her Yerde Sanat Derneği (Art Anywhere Association) is a pioneering social circus and cultural arts initiative based in Mardin, operating under the guiding motto "For Children, Inspired By Children." Established in 2012 by co-founders Pınar Demiral and Serdal Adam, the organization was created as an independent sanctuary to support local, refugee, and displaced youth coping with trauma from regional conflicts across Syria and Iraq. By transforming performance disciplines into tools for psychosocial recovery, inclusion, and personal empowerment, the association provides safe creative spaces across southeastern Turkey.

Over subsequent years, the initiative broadened its educational scope to incorporate musical mastery, street theatre, and visual storytelling. In 2016, Turkish photographer Emel Ernalbant expanded the mission by launching the Sirkhane Darkroom photography laboratory, introducing youngsters to traditional film techniques. Later in 2018, Iranian-American composer Sahba Aminikia collaborated with the team to establish the Müzikhane social music school and the cross-border Flying Carpet Children Festival. Operating across four physical centers and mobile outreach units, the association welcomes children daily into supportive environments designed to dissolve social barriers, cultivate youth leadership, and build lasting resilience through non-competitive artistic play in historic Upper Mesopotamia.

Programme and What's On

The curriculum at Her Yerde Sanat Derneği centers around multidisciplinary creative education delivered free of charge to all participating children. Within the Sirkhane (House of Circus) workshops, students practice core social circus techniques, including juggling, ground acrobatics, aerial silks, clowning, human pyramid construction, theatre, and expressive dance. These physical disciplines prioritize trust-building, bodily awareness, and mutual collaboration rather than competition.

Musical and visual arts form equal pillars of the organization's core programming. The Müzikhane (House of Music) initiative operates as a communal learning academy where children explore diverse musical instruments alongside visiting international musicians. For visual expression, the Sirkhane Darkroom project—mentored by trainer Serbest—trains students in analog and pinhole camera mechanics, film chemistry, darkroom development, and exhibition curation, allowing young photographers to document their daily realities through authentic monochrome prints.

To reach distant rural settlements across Mardin, the association deploys specialized mobile infrastructure. The Galaxi Mobile Circus Unit travels to remote villages delivering live magic shows, puppetry, circus spectacles, and integrated child protection workshops. Complementing this is the Flying Library, a mobile converted shipping container stocked with children's literature, craft supplies, cinema screenings, and psychosocial activities, which remains anchored in vulnerable settlements for a minimum of one full year.

On a broader scale, the Flying Carpet Children Festival stands as an international celebration uniting social circus pedagogy, storytelling, and stagecraft. The festival has welcomed over 220 international artists from more than 20 countries, delivering 600 educational workshops and nearly 80 live performances. Advanced teenagers also step into leadership roles through the Circus Heroes trainer-training track, while refugee families receive integration support via EU-backed ESSN and CCTE conditional education frameworks.

Atmosphere and Who It Suits

Stepping into Her Yerde Sanat Derneği reveals an environment defined by warmth, infectious joy, and absolute safety. The learning areas are intentionally crafted to be non-judgmental and liberating, giving young people fleeing conflict or socioeconomic vulnerability a reliable refuge where self-expression is celebrated. The presence of colorful juggling pins, unicycles, hanging aerial apparatuses, and darkroom drying lines creates an inspiring, dynamic setting that encourages natural curiosity and emotional release.

This space is tailored primarily for local youth, refugee and displaced children, and aspiring young instructors seeking constructive social outlets. Rather than treating beneficiaries as passive recipients, the association actively integrates young participants into its governance structure through a dedicated Children’s Council (Çocuk Meclisi), empowering children to influence workshop planning and community activities directly.

The organizational standards meet rigorous international pedagogical benchmarks. Her Yerde Sanat Derneği is an active member of the international Caravan Circus Network and holds an official quality label registration from the European Commission’s Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Public records also note that the project was chosen as a Changemaker in the 9th Season of the Sabancı Foundation Fark Yaratanlar program for its societal contributions.

With a daily operational capacity accommodating up to 300 children across four established community centers and two active mobile units, the association fosters a deeply inclusive atmosphere. Since its inception in 2012, its methodology of non-formal arts education has reached more than 500,000 children throughout festivals, school visits, and mobile library tours, proving especially valuable for international volunteers and educators seeking ethical, grassroots artistic engagement.

Location and Practical Details

Her Yerde Sanat Derneği is located in the historic province of Mardin in southeastern Turkey, set along the border with Syria in the ancient geography of Mesopotamia between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Situated within the Artuklu central district, the local facility is positioned in the residential İstasyon Mahallesi neighborhood, near the vicinity of the historic railway station. This setting places the educational workshops within easy reach of surrounding neighborhoods where local and relocated families reside.

In terms of communication and administrative coordination, the Mardin center can be contacted by telephone at (0482) 212 30 39 or via electronic mail at [email protected]. While the primary brick-and-mortar operations are concentrated in Mardin across four fixed centers and two roving mobile assets, the association's outreach extends periodically to northern Anatolia, including seasonal agricultural projects conducted across Samsun, Ordu, and Giresun.

Visitors, supporters, and prospective collaborators should note that Her Yerde Sanat Derneği does not function as a commercial entertainment venue. There are no ticket sales, fixed admission prices, or commercial booking schedules. All regular artistic workshops, darkroom classes, and mobile library services are provided entirely without cost to participating children and their families.

For adult creatives, social workers, and cultural practitioners wishing to visit or participate, engagement occurs primarily through structured volunteer programs and artist residencies. International and local artists can apply to lead specialized training modules, while individual benefactors can support ongoing operational expenses through tax-deductible donations. Inquiries regarding volunteer placement timelines and festival dates should be directed in advance to the administrative team.

The Mio Angle: Meeting and Events

On Mio Social, Her Yerde Sanat Derneği stands out not as a typical commercial leisure venue, but as one of Mardin’s most inspiring cultural hubs for social impact, grassroots artistry, and international collaboration. For travelers, social practitioners, and cultural advocates exploring southeastern Turkey, it represents an extraordinary meeting ground where humanitarian work merges seamlessly with performing arts, analog photography, and community resilience.

From a storytelling and visual sharing perspective, the center offers unmatched creative authenticity. Rather than standard staged sightseeing shots, the imagery emerging from this space showcases raw, joyful milestones: young acrobats mastering human pyramids, children developing silver gelatin prints under red lights in the Sirkhane Darkroom, and colorful stilt-walkers transforming rural village squares during the Galaxi mobile tours. The association’s signature Flying Carpet Children Festival—distinguished as a winner of the 2025 Aga Khan Music Award under composer Sahba Aminikia’s co-direction—provides a brilliant backdrop of cross-cultural musical concerts and street performances.

For the budget-conscious and purpose-driven visitor, the financial model is transparent and ethical. Children participate at zero cost, making the space entirely barrier-free for the local community. Visitors engaged with Mio's answer economy who ask "where can I contribute my skills or find meaningful community projects in Mardin?" will find Her Yerde Sanat Derneği to be the definitive recommendation for artistic volunteering, grassroots solidarity, and tax-deductible cultural patronage.