DREAMS TO REALITIES

Initiated by VitrA and the Turkish Association of Architects in Private Practice (TSMD), the VitrA Contemporary Architecture Series aimed to document and discuss the contemporary architectural context in Turkey and create a basis for new work by focusing on different building types. Five exhibitions took place within the series between 2012 and 2016. Public programs and film screenings accompanied the exhibitions, bringing different perspectives on the subjects into view and exploring their further implications.

The third exhibition in the series, Dreams to Realities, invited visitors to reflect on education and imagine new possibilities. Presenting education through the eyes of school students and apprentices learning a craft in workshops, the interactive exhibition focused on the value of each individual and the fundamental purpose of education. It highlighted the responsibility inherent in the relationship between education and space, and put forward the idea that educational approaches and the spaces in which education takes place should be conceived together, as interrelated elements.

From the exhibition text:

“Dreams to Realities is an exhibition that, through questions and contributions from the audience, prompts reflection on the themes of “What could be better, and how?”—going beyond what has already been done—and seeks to present the educational experience through the eyes of its many participants. It is an exhibition that, in a sense, does not wish to be fixed in a single form, but establishes a close connection with the audience, suggesting that it can take shape through the audience’s presence and contributions, and inviting them to consider this possibility.”

“The exhibition is structured around the idea that reflecting on education, asking questions, and making projections about the future are almost an integral part of education itself—and that we can best begin to understand education through the ideas generated about it.”

“This interactive exhibition, which explores education through the eyes of students in schools and apprentices learning a craft in workshops, first and foremost highlights just how valuable every individual is. It states that the fundamental purpose of education is to enable people to demonstrate their power to change their own lives and those around them.”

The exhibition was first shown at Istanbul Modern and then at the TSMD Architecture Center.