Diyarbakır Arts Center hosted the ‘Merhabarev’ exhibition January 13-31, 2007, which comprised joint works of five photographers from Turkey and Armenia. The project, carried out in collaboration with Nar Photos from Istanbul and Patker Photos from Yerevan, was realized with the support of Heinrich Böll Stiftung Istanbul Office. The 130 black and white photographs on display at the exhibition were taken during the visits of photographers from Istanbul to Yerevan (May 3-11, 2006) and by photographers from Yerevan to Istanbul (June 26-July 3, 2006). The exhibition brought together the photographs of the artists who recorded their encounters and observations in Istanbul and Yerevan. Photographers visited these cities for the first time and intended to underline the common language and universal power of the art of photography. ‘Merhabarev’, the name of the exhibition, is derived from the combination of the words for ‘hello’, ‘merhaba’ in Turkish and ‘barev’ in Armenian. It draws attention to the importance of starting the conversation with a greeting, whether it is the first time or not. After the opening of the exhibition, a talk titled ‘Photography as a Method in Intercultural Communication’ was held with the participation of Özcan Yurdalan.
