Piksel | O’Art Class of 2022 presents “Soft Discipline”: A Blended Digital Exhibition ​

O’Art, Odeabank’s art platform that has been supporting art and artists since 2015, will “welcome” the season by awarding scholarships to young artists supported by the bank.  Curated by Ekmel Ertan and the artists, the digital exhibition “Yumuşak Disiplin” (Soft Discipline) will be open to art enthusiasts at Alan Kadıköy from September 6 to October 6.

Established by Odeabank in 2015, O’Art strives to make art accessible to all. Embracing a new vision, O’Art now emphasizes digital art, continuously creating original works to enrich both the art world and its admirers.

Odeabank's art platform, O'art, established a significant collaboration with Piksel last year, one of its training and support programs, to contribute to digital art in Turkey and support new media artists. To mark its 10th anniversary, Odeabank launched a program providing work production support of 100,000 Turkish lira per person, totaling 1 million Turkish lira, for 10 artists interested in digital art, either graduates or current students from relevant university departments. The selected artists—Beyza Dilem Topdal, Birce Özkan, Ceren Su Çelik, Eda Şarman, Gözde Betülay Yorulmaz, Habat Bayram, Haluk Miraç Aykın, İmelda Kuyumcu, Naz Nar, and Yekateryna Grygorenko—each received 100,000 Turkish lira in support. They had the opportunity to engage and collaborate with leading artists, curators, art professionals, and collectors worldwide through the intensive three-month Piksel | O’Art New Media Guest Artist Program. In addition to mentoring in New Media and digital art, they received comprehensive training on the software and hardware used in new media art production through the Masterclass program.   Upon completing the training program, the Piksel | O’Art Class of 2022 will have the opportunity to showcase their works in the digital exhibition ‘Soft Discipline’ organized by O’Art.

Featuring works that blend traditional art techniques with digital art, the group exhibition “Soft Discipline” will be open for visitors at Alan Kadıköy from September 6 to October 6. The exhibition will be open to the public free of charge from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Curated by Ekmel Ertan and the exhibiting artists, the exhibition will feature works by Beyza Dilem Topdal, Ceren Su Çelik, Eda Şarman, Gözde Betülay Yorulmaz, Xabat Bayram, Haluk Miraç Aykın, İmelda Kuyumcu, Naz Nar, and Yekateryna Grygorenko.

Curator Ekmel Ertan remarked on the exhibition: “Digital technology delves into the depths of our bodies and minds, leaving us little time or opportunity to question its impact. Since humans first began walking on two legs, they have consistently used technology to enhance their physical capabilities. We have transformed the world through the technology we have created. Through our collective research and production for this exhibition, we defined the transformative power of technology as ‘disciplining the object.’ Each form of technology ‘disciplines’ objects, nature, and things. We can even include ourselves in this category to the extent that we are ‘objectified’ by technology. ‘Soft Discipline’ explores how technology, particularly digital technologies, disciplines us with our own consent. ‘Soft Discipline’ examines how our bodies, minds, and social existence are transformed by technology. It raises the possibility of fostering a democratic and egalitarian understanding of technology by shifting agency away from the technology itself and those who essentially turn technologies into agents.”