Carolyn Drake, a photographer renowned for her work in Ukraine and Central Asia, and associated with Magnum Photos Photography Agency, one of the world’s leading photography agencies, came to Turkey to hold photography workshops, portfolio reading events and talks on photography in Diyarbakır, Mardin and Urfa January 22-30, 2016. The events, which drew considerable interest from photography associations and enthusiasts in all three cities, were organized in partnership with Diyarbakır Arts Center and Diyarbakır Photography Amateurs Association (DİFAK), in cooperation with Mardin Photography and Cinema Amateurs Association and Şanlıurfa Photography Art Association, and with the support of the US Consulate in Adana.

Following an open call to photographers and photography associations in Diyarbakır, Mardin, and Urfa, nearly 100 applications for the workshops were received from different parts of Turkey, particularly the three project cities. These applications were reviewed by Özcan Yurdalan, a photographer, writer, and photography instructor. Approximately 20 people participated in two workshops hosted by Diyarbakır Arts Center. In the first workshop, where the participants’ portfolios were evaluated, Carolyn Drake provided feedback on the work of the participants for the exercise on how to reflect conflict periods through photography. The artist also presented examples of photographers from Turkey and around the world. Additionally, 13 photographers from each city were chosen for one-day portfolio reading events in Mardin and Urfa, held on January 27 and 29, respectively. In addition to these workshops, Carolyn Drake also held photography talks in each city, which were open to all photography enthusiasts. During the talks, Drake shared insights into the shooting and book publishing process of her works, ‘Two Rivers’ and ‘Wild Pigeon’, and answered questions from the audience.