The Hulda project is the launching of an innovative travelling festival using M/S Hulda (Ilhan Koman's former home), a 100-year old Swedish sailing boat, as an attractive infrastructure for exhibitions & youth workshops presenting Turkish culture and links between arts & sciences. The project offers a unique opportunity to promote relations between Turkey and the EU countries in a spectacular and constructive way.

Hulda will visit 10 major European ports on her 1st trip from Stockholm to Istanbul. The festival will be locally implemented, thanks to the partnership of important art, culture & science institutions in the 10 countries. It will also actively involve local authorities & public primary schools

It directly targets 200 000 participants with varied activities all along the EU & in Turkey, as well as millions through a wide press coverage assumed by international media partners.

The Hulda Festival will include:

- International public relation & advertising campaigns,

- An onboard exhibition spreading knowledge about Turkish arts & cultures showing artworks, by the Turkish-Swedish artist-scientist Ilhan Koman, demonstrating scientific phenomena,

- Under a juxtaposed tent installed on the quay, interactive activities on the reciprocal influence of sciences, arts & cultures proposed by local partner organisations,

- Workshops targeting 54 000 youngsters, particularly including underprivileged children, to make approaches to different cultures, to arts and to sciences more accessible and playful,

- A competition encouraging students to write for the general public some vulgarized scientific texts about interesting links between sciences, arts & cultures,

- An ‘arrival’ special exhibition in Istanbul to tell the whole story of this festival,

- A public conference in the presence of all EU partners and of winners of the student competition to debate on the issues underlined by the project.

The Hulda Festival will cruise along the EU in 2009 and arrive in Turkey during the Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture festivities.

It will come in France in July 2009 and will participate to the opening of the 'Turkish Cultural Season in France', organised by the Turkish and French governments.

The cultural, scientific and educational activities, which the project covers will contribute to Turkey to take an attractive role in the cultural life of Europe.


Hulda project is funded by the European Commission’s 7th Framework Program and by the Istanbul Consulate General of Sweden.

Implementation of several Koman's artworks in Bogazici University campuses thanks to the sponsorship of Garanti Bank


                     

A motorised, 5-meter high, ‘Portal’ metal sculpture, from Koman’s‘Moebius Series’ has been brought from Stockholm (Sweden) to Istanbul, to be installed in Bogazici University campus.

('Portal' in Sweden - 1989)

('Portal' in Turkey - 2008)

The Turkish bank, Garanti, has also decided to sponsor the implementation of several monumental artworks from the Pi series for the campuses of Bogazici University.

('Pi



Ilhan Koman exhibition in Operating Place (Stockholm - Sweden)



The Koman Foundation works on presenting an Ilhan Koman exhibition in the Operating Place gallery in Stockholm (Sweden) in autumn 2008.