“SaDe: Artist Support Fund” is a programme inaugurated in 2022 with the aim of contributing to the artistic development of artists who are active in the fields of digital and visual arts and continue their production in Turkey. The fund is managed by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV), in collaboration with Mercedes-Benz.

Within the scope of the programme, a total of 5 artists will be supported within a year, allowing the artists who continue to work in Turkey to develop their practices. Artists who can prove their capacity to produce artworks and who are at the beginning of an artistic project can apply to the programme.

In each open call period, candidates can apply with a project in digital arts, visual arts (painting, drawing, printing techniques, sculpture, ceramics, photography, sound, video and installation) or with an interdisciplinary project that includes several of these disciplines.

The programme aims to stimulate new breakthroughs in the artists’ practices, by funding their research towards production and the production process itself, therefore supporting the project’s progress. All candidates who can demonstrate their competence and willingness in the relevant fields can apply for funding.

In each term, candidates will be evaluated by the selection committee of the project. The artists to be accepted into the programme will be determined at the end of a three-stage process: meeting the application requirements, pre-selection and evaluation by the jury. In the first term of the project, the applications will be evaluated by curator Kevser Güler, art historian, researcher and independent curator Yekhan Pınarlıgil, artist Hale Tenger, editor and independent curator Nilüfer Şaşmazer, and academic, educational programmer and independent curator Işın Önol.

The fund will provide 5,000 Euros of support for each artist to realise their project.