Photographs are taken from the  Ustaişi Beyoğlu - The Crafts Once Again Project Book.

Masterpiece Beyoğlu is a project that reconnects Beyoğlu’s craft heritage with contemporary design, education and creative production practices; by bringing together masters, apprentices, students, designers and workshops, it aims to transfer craft knowledge to future generations, propose a new apprenticeship model, strengthen workshops, and reposition the district as an open center of craft, creativity and education.

"What kind of opportunities does craft begin to present us if it is taken beyond being a production type and a life style that belongs to preindustrial period? Can we redefine the changing status of today’s craft through the craft system that exists in İstanbul? Craft type of production which is gradually diminishing in the world and has almost vanished in some regions, still sustains its existence in İstanbul and depending on a “network” structure, it clusters in certain areas and particularly in the city center. In this regard, since Ottoman Empire’s Westernization Period of 19th Century, Beyoğlu has become one of the important craft centers of İstanbul. Within the scope of UNESCO Convention for Intangible Cultural Heritage, in which Turkey has become a party in 2006,

handcrafts and manual production are among values that require protection. Such areas of craft, with their internal relations and relations established with creative actors, generate a space for creativity. Also contrary to large scale mass production, they enable the production of interactive, pluralist and creative knowledge by keeping their workshop environments and production knowledge open to their own network and to the use and participation of creative actors.

Having worked hand in hand with creative actors for many years, the craft workshops located in Beyoğlu have also played a significant role in creating innovative handcrafts. At this point, rather than a “disappearing” and “out of function” production type, the craft workshops in Beyoğlu need to be defined as a production type which has managed to update itself and develop practices with creative actors in face of contemporary needs and demands. Thus, throughout İstanbul and especially in Beyoğlu, we can begin to reposition craft workshops and quarters as “innovativeness and creativity center”. Within such a future projection, transmission of craft-related knowledge and skills to new generations and creative actors is considered to be a prioritized field of activity. And at this point, could it be possible that we make craft workshops a component of and a place for the current education system? Could we reintroduce the master-apprentice training system to the agenda and transform it into a model that supports creativity and innovation?

These propositions are substantial in terms of both transferring craft knowledge to next generations and moving beyond the enclosed and didactic formations of formal education. Each craft workshop and master has unique knowledge and experience. This type of knowledge can only be carried into future by new generations, it can be enriched by freshly generated experience and knowledge. For generations, craft education has been given and transferred through “Master-Apprentice” training model. Nowadays, this model has been staggering due to various reasons; new apprentices and accordingly masters could not be trained. Meanwhile, new education

models are emerging in Western nations, where trial and attempt, as well as thinking and developing ideas via 3D visualization are becoming a notable part of formal education, from primary school up to university. At this point, it is important that we consider activating the traditional master-apprentice training method which was based on learning by doing, trying, observing and transferring knowledge, and integrating this method into the current education system.

Within the scope of Masterpiece Beyoğlu project initiated a series of actions. Craft workshops in Beyoğlu, and metal, wood, glass, costume, music instrument, chandelier and lampshade workshops have been utilized as a part of contemporary education. Craftsmen, university design students and vocational high school students came together, and along with foreign and local creative industrial professionals and academics, they took part in the formation of new apprenticeship and training model. Craft intelligence has been reconstructed by innovative methods, driving from Master-Apprentice-Workshop triangle.

With the Masterpiece Beyoğlu Project, the aim was to redesign Beyoğlu district as an open and innovative training area that nurtures creativity and production while putting craft workshops in the center and associating them with formal education. I would like to extend my thanks to Istanbul Development Agency, Beyoğlu Municipality, Culture City Foundation, Istanbul Bilgi University and all craft workshops, masters, apprentices, design students, academics and creative actors who were involved in this project by embracing and supporting this matter. May this project evolve with the involvement of more craft workshops, craftsmen, creative actors and youngsters and may this district become an open hub for craft, creativity and education."

Aslı Kıyak İngin

Academic Coordinator, Ustaişi Beyoğlu

Lecturer, Istanbul Bilgi University

Taken from the Ustaişi Beyoğlu - Crafts Once Again Project Book.

Steps of the Project:

Contemporary Apprenticeship Program: Within the scope of the project, traditional mastery training was combined with contemporary creativity and production education, bringing craft workshops to the agenda as an alternative and creative field of education and work.

Master-Apprentice Seminars: The seminars were carried out as an open educational process that enabled craftspeople, masters and apprentices in the district to become informed about current issues and improve themselves.

Workshop Improvement Works: The space improvement and workshop strengthening works carried out within the scope of the Masterpiece Beyoğlu project were implemented through small-scale interventions in four different craft workshops in Galata and Şişhane, taking into account the needs of the masters, occupational safety analyses, and the cultural texture of the workshops.

Creative Workshops:

 -From Volos to Istanbul: Fishermen and Craftsmen

 -Crafts in Arcades

 -Creative Workshops: The Arcades

 -Customized Craft, Unlimited Edition

Exhibition: The Crafts Once Again…: Masterpiece Beyoğlu Project Exhibition, Beyoğlu Municipality Exhibition Hall

ZET Conference: A Conference on Craft, Education and Design, Istanbul Bilgi University Santral Campus

Photographs are taken from the Ustaişi Beyoğlu - The Crafts Once Again Project Book.

Pages from the Ustaişi Beyoğlu - The Crafts Once Again Project Book:

Quotes from Masters:

Ustaişi Beyoğlu Project Documentary: