Bolis Lusadu – The Magic of Craftsmen’s Hands

Opening: Wednesday, May 29, 18:30

Bolis Lusadu Photography Collective’s exhibition titled The Magic of Craftsmen’s Hands opens at Depo on May 29th.

The collective’s year-long documentary photography project focuses on dying professions and a shrinking community. In Istanbul, worker visibility is on the decline as a result of technological developments, while the city’s Armenian population is also experiencing a rapid diminution. Lusadu is addressing these two issues together by creating an important photographic archive of Istanbul’s remaining Armenian craftsmen. By visiting people from different professions in their workshops and taking their photographs, the collective keeps a record of the last Istanbulite Armenians active in various fields such as jewellery making, blacksmithing, leatherwork, tailoring, mechanics, watchmaking, watchmaking, bookbinding, hatmaking, dental technician, carpentry, and turnery among others.

The exhibition, which brings together the photographs by Arman Camgözoğlu, Berge Arabian, Dikran Dülgeryan, Edmon Sefer, Garo Miloşyan, Mıgırdiç Arzivyan, Nuran Akkaya and Sarkis Baharoğlu, is realised with the support of Kınalıada Surp Krikor Lusavoric Church Foundation.

Bolis Lusadu Collective was founded in January 2023 to bring together professional and amateur Armenian photographers from Istanbul. Lusadu’s primary goals are to increase solidarity among photographers who share the same identity and to realise collaborative projects. The collective also aims to promote the art of photography within the Armenian community, contribute to the development of the arts and culture in Istanbul, organise workshops based on sharing, and support the training of new photographers. In the future, Lusadu wishes to evolve into a self-sustaining organisation and establish an archive and collection of works by Armenian photographers.