Climate Crossings: A Dutch-Turkish Climate Conversation — Open Call for Artists

Organizer

AKS Creative Hub / Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ankara

Climate Crossings: A Dutch-Turkish Climate Conversation Open Call for Artists As part of Climate Crossing: A Dutch–Turkish Climate Conversation, AKS Creative Hub in cooperation with the Embassy of the Netherlands in Ankara has launched an open call for two emerging digital artists, one based in the Netherlands and one in Türkiye, to collaborate on a cross-border digital artwork exploring the intersections of climate, architecture, cities, and public space… read more Climate Crossings: A Dutch-Turkish Climate Conversation Open Call for Artists As part of Climate Crossing: A Dutch–Turkish Climate Conversation, AKS Creative Hub in cooperation with the Embassy of the Netherlands in Ankara has launched an open call for two emerging digital artists, one based in the Netherlands and one in Türkiye, to collaborate on a cross-border digital artwork exploring the intersections of climate, architecture, cities, and public space. From creative coding and data visualization to animation, interactive media, and digital storytelling, this is an opportunity to transform climate research into an engaging artistic experience while working alongside fellow creatives across borders. The selected artists will collaborate across borders to develop a digital artwork or data-driven installation exploring the intersections of architecture, art, public space and climate action. The artistic process will use climate and urban data as both a creative material and a method of inquiry. Through data visualisation, creative coding, three-dimensional modelling and digital storytelling, the artists will translate complex climate-related information into an accessible and engaging artistic experience. Building on the programme’s preceding series of seminars, educational sessions and panel discussions, the artistic collaboration will begin with online exchange sessions in August. The artists will share their practices, examine the different urban and environmental contexts of the Netherlands and Türkiye, and collectively translate the knowledge, discussions and data generated throughout the wider programme into a shared digital concept. ABOUT THE PROGRAMME Running from June to November 2026, the programme brings together leading experts, academics, students and practitioners from the Netherlands and Türkiye through a series of bi-weekly sessions. The sessions address themes including: - Passive-house strategies and sustainable architecture - Climate-responsive education - Urban heat islands and city planning - International climate policy and the road to COP31 - Construction materials research - Disaster resilience - Climate change and heritage preservation The programme began with a guided tour of the new Dutch Embassy building as anexample of sustainable architectural design and will conclude with a digital artwork, student proposals and a collective discussion on future collaboration. Rather than treating art as a visual illustration of scientific or architectural information, the programme positions digital artistic practice as a way of questioning, interpreting and communicating climate data. Data can make environmental change measurable, but artistic practice can make it visible, spatial and emotionally legible. THE DIGITAL ARTISTIC COLLABORATION The two selected artists will participate in a collaborative production and research process between August and November 2026. Working as a Netherlands–Türkiye artist pair, they will bring together different technical skills, artistic methods and local perspectives to develop a shared digital artwork. The collaboration will focus on transforming climate-related data and the knowledge generated through the wider programme into an artistic experience that can communicate complex environmental issues to a broader audience. The process will include: 1. Online Meetings & Climate Data Research and Interpretation Facilitated online meetings will introduce the programme, connect the selected artists and create space for them to exchange their practices, technical approaches, research interests and initial ideas. The artists will investigate relevant climate, architectural and urban datasets from the Netherlands and Türkiye. These may relate to subjects such as: - Changes in urban temperatures - Urban heat island effects - Carbon emissions and energy consumption - Extreme weather events - Water systems and flood risk - Air quality - Climate-related risks to cultural heritage - Material use and the environmental impact of construction - Patterns of urban growth and land use - Climate resilience in public space The artistic process will draw on existing datasets and research previously collected or developed by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Türkiye and Aks Creative Hub. The selected artists will also be encouraged to identify and investigate additional relevant data sources in response to the direction of their collaborative concept. The selected data will not simply be presented as information. It will be critically interpreted, contextualised and transformed through a shared artistic methodology. 2. Digital Artwork Development The selected artists will work together to create a digital artwork that connects perspectives from the Netherlands and Türkiye and responds to themes explored throughout the programme, including climate, cities, architecture, and public space. To allow for flexibility in the exhibition, the final work should be suitable for presentation using a screen or projector. The artwork may take different forms, such as: - Animation and moving-image works - Digital or generative art - Interactive media - Audiovisual experiences - Projection-based installations - Three-dimensional digital environments - Data-inspired visual storytelling - Other experimental digital formats Artists are free to choose the tools and methods that best suit their practice. These may include creative coding, animation, digital modelling, motion graphics, interactive technologies, or other approaches. We welcome applicants from a variety of artistic and creative backgrounds. Previous experience with digital production is encouraged, but artists are not expected to master specific software or technical tools. The programme values curiosity, experimentation, and collaboration, and encourages participants to explore how artistic practice can make climate-related questions visible and engaging for wider audiences. 3. Final Exhibition The completed digital artwork will be presented during a closing event in November 2026 in Ankara. The artists will also introduce the conceptual and technical process behind the work, including: - The climate questions and datasets they explored - How the collaboration brought together perspectives from the Netherlands and Türkiye - The methods used to interpret and visualise the data - The relationship between the artwork and the wider knowledge exchange programme - Reflections on the role of digital art in communicating climate change The final format and technical display requirements will be developed in coordination with the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Aks Creative Hub. FINAL EVENT Digital Artwork Reveal and Way Forward November 2026, Ankara, Türkiye The final event will bring together the artists, students, experts and participants involved throughout the programme. The selected artists will present the collaborative digital artwork and discuss how climate and urban data were translated into an artistic experience. The event will conclude with reflections on the programme, future collaboration opportunities, certificate presentations and a closing reception.

Award

Collaborative production process, final exhibition presentation, certificate

Eligibility

Eligible countries: NL, TR

One digital artist based in the Netherlands, one based in Türkiye