Linking Our Stories
The power of a woman telling her story lies in the transformation she lives when she hears the strength of her own voice and in the transformation we live when we are forced to shift our own ideas about women as faceless objects without a voice.
About the project
This project aims to establish a dialogue and cooperation between Armenian and Turkish women, to build solidarity among women across the closed Turkish-Armenian border and to develop an innovative approach to peace-building by collecting a number of interviews by and from women in both countries, which will then be turned into a performance and book for larger audiences. Some of the themes that will be explored include violence, poverty, family, and sexuality. One of our main goals is to make visible ordinary women’s lives living across the border, and to make their stories accessible to women in both countries, as well as to women in other countries with conflicted borders.
Who we are?
The Beyond Borders: Linking Our Stories initiative is made up of people who wanted to come together across conflict-divides to create possibilities for living and creating together.
We are a group of Armenian, Kurdish and Turkish women, non-binary people, queers, feminists, artists, healers and peace-builders. Between the years 2013 and 2017 we were meeting within and beyond the borders of Armenia and Turkey to live and create together through performance art, non-verbal communication, body and voice movement as well as other healing modalities. Since 2017 the Beyond Borders: Linking Our Stories project has come to a close, but we continue to be connected through the solidarity and inspiration we generated as a result of the work done within the frames of this project.
Մենք հայերից, քրդերից և թուրքերից բաղկացած խումբ ենք, ովքեր նույնականանում են որպես կին, ոչ բինար, քվիր, ֆեմինիստ, արվեստագետ, ամոքող և խաղաղասեր մարդիկ: 2013-2017 թվականների ընթացքում մենք պարբերաբար հանդիպում էինք Հայաստանի և Թուրքիայի սահմանների ներսում և սահմաններից դուրս, որպեսզի փորձառնեինք միասին ապրելու և ստեղծագործելու ձևեր՝ կատարողական արվեստի, ոչ բանավոր հաղորդակցության, մարմնաշարժողական, ձայնային և այլ ամոքող մեթոդների միջոցով: 2017 թվականին «Սահմաններից այն կողմ․ Միահյուսելով մեր պատմությունները» ծրագիրը ավարտվել է, բայց մենք շարունակում ենք կապված լինել՝ համատեղ աշխատանքի արդյունքում ստեղծված համերաշխության և ոգեշնչման շնորհիվ։
Biz kendini feminist, sanatçı, şifacı ve barış sözcüsü olarak tanımlayan Ermeni, Kürt, Türk kadın ve kuir bireylerden oluşan bir topluluğuz. 2013-2017 yılları arasında Ermenistan ve Türkiye sınırları içerisinde ve ötesinde buluşmalar düzenledik. Bir araya geldiğimizde hem birlikte yaşayarak topluluk oluşturma pratiğini deneyimledik; hem de performans sanatı, sözsüz iletişim, doğaçlama beden ve ses devinimi ve diğer şifa yöntemlerini kullanarak sanatsal yaratım süreçlerinde bulunduk. 2017 yılında ‘’Sınırların Ötesinde Hikayelerimizi Buluşturmak’’ adlı projemiz sona erdi. Ancak bu proje kapsamında geliştirdiğimiz dayanışmanın ve şifalandırıcı sanatsal yöntemlerin verdiği ilhamla bağlantıda kalmaya devam ediyoruz.
Living Glossary of Terms
The words we used and the process of making meaning were part of the work we did to keep the soil of the project alive.
This glossary we provide some of the history of the processes we went through in defining the terms we used throughout the project period.