atlas Harran is a design collection translating Mesopotamian knowledge, culture and aesthetics to today’s world in a product and textile collection through handmade production by women in Harran.
Harran is a district in southeastern Turkey, close to the Syrian border. The area has an ancient history, and Harran has been the gateway of many civilizations during more than 5000 years. Greek, Roman, Assyrian and Babel societies have left traces, ruins, patterns, know-how and knowledge through different ages.
atlas design collection is curated by Bilgen Coşkun and Dilek Öztürk, founders of IN-BETWEEN Design Platform, designed by Aslı Smith, Barış Gün, Begüm Cana Özgür, DAY Studio, INCOMPLIT and Şule Koç who are based in Istanbul, Turkey. The project is managed by Ömer Faruk Çelik, District Governor of Harran, and realized with ADEM (Family Support Centre) within the Governorship of Harran, dedicated to support women empowerment and encouraging women to take an active role in the social life and thus creating a social change.
In collaboration with the Swedish Institute, a selection of the atlas Harran design collection and its unique research based story will be showcased at the Swedish Institute on February 8 during Stockholm Design Week 2019, as part of the 25 Hours Design program.
During the evening, the program will highlight the social impact of crafts and design which will be presented through a multicultural exchange. The program will include Ömer Faruk Çelk, District Governor of Harran, curators Bilgen Coşkun and Dilek Öztürk, designers Begüm Cana Özgür, Rebecca Ahlstedt and Erica Jacobson, Suzi Erşahin, former cultural counselor to Sweden in Istanbul, James Taylor Foster, curator at ArkDes.
Process of the collection
atlas design collection is developed with a democratic approach bringing a diverse group of professionals together to open discussions and set the project framework collectively. This is why a commission was put together including academics and other professionals from design, archaeology and creative entrepreneurship; Ömer Faruk Çelik, District Governor of Harran, Asst.Prof. Veli Şafak Uysal, Vice Dean of Istanbul Bilgi University Faculty of Architecture and Archeologist Prof.Dr. Mehmet Önal.
In the scope of the project, six designers were selected by the curators; Aslı Smith, Barış Gün, Begüm Cana Özgür, Doğanberk Erdemir and Yeşim Eröktem of DAY Studio, Şule Koç and Öykü Özgencil of Incomplit. The curatorial and designer team worked on the project between September 2017 and September 2018, starting with the site visits and research in Harran. The curators went through a research process and defined the design values, design criteria and production methods. Following this, the process was evolved with the designers; design and production follow ups, meetings, juries and presentations.
The methodology is based on generating a know-how to translate the historical and cultural references to a contemporary design language addressing the ways of urban living styles of our times.
Concept of the collection
The standing point of atlas collection is based on taking unique references from the sophisticated culture, aesthetic and knowledge of Mesopotamia through ages.
The collection is translated into a product line, which can be integrated to a contemporary living concept. The collection aims to create a dialogue between the global design scene and a region rich in design references.
Social aspect of the collection
The social responsibility aspect of the project was built on a model supporting the local and refugee women living in Harran to create their economic independence. This is realized by women being at the core of the production process in the workshops built in Harran under the roof of ADEM (Family Support Centre). These women will make their living by being involved in the sales revenues. In order to make this sustainable, one of the main criteria in developing this project was that the whole collection should be able to produced in these particular workshops.