My career includes award-winning advertising, hospitality and cultural projects, including restaurants and hybrid rooms in London and southeast.
My practice examines the meeting point between interior and outdoor space – which I call “invisible threshold values” – and is strongly based on the scenographs and visual storytelling, influenced by my early experience in film and TV set design.
I have resident in Southampton and founded the Grounds CIC gallery in response to two important observations: these underrepresented and emerging artists often have no access to space and visibility, and the communities thrive when creativity is inclusive and collaborative.
I wanted to create the space that I was looking for – somewhere people could appear, be seen and heard and combined by creativity. A room in which an unknown name or background did not have a barrier, but a contribution to the wealth of the conversation. My long-term goal is to create sustainable models for independent, municipal galleries that can thrive with gallery.
Gallery Grounds is a non -profit gallery and a creative hub that offers free open calls, exhibitions and workshops that combine different groups in art, design and social engagement. The gallery focuses on the support of neurodiving people, students, artists and isolated communities in early care and isolated communities, and is rooted in conviction that creativity promotes the connection and change.
On the galerlieglünde, our three basic values, cooperation, creativity and cultural exchange are the basis for everything we do. We do not see the gallery as a place where we can exhibit work, but as a living space where people come together and create something larger than themselves.
Cooperation means not only with artists, but also with local schools, nursing homes, community groups and creatives from outside the traditional art world. We design our programs that are shaped with people, not just for them. In this context, creativity is not just about producing beautiful things-it is about problem solutions, self-expression, storytelling and connection.
As someone who came from elsewhere to Southampton, I deeply appreciate what happens when different cultures, disciplines and generations meet. The gallery becomes a kind of common language that does not require that you are already part of a certain circle to participate.
What distinguishes us is our commitment to build a model that supports itself. Do not exclusively generate an income through thoughtful programming, partnerships and hospitality oriented in the municipality.
We have chosen ourselves very intentionally for our location in the city. It enables us to remain open and visible to both residents and visitors and to invite people from all areas of life, to explore, explore and get involved. By being in a central, walk -in area, we not only show art – we create an active space for dialogue, collaboration and exchange that goes beyond the gallery walls.
We carry out ongoing conversations with the artists with whom we work to make the room viable and at the same time remain true to our values for access and inclusion. As a very small team with multi-ability, we do not need large budgets to keep the room open. What we really need are local customers and volunteers who can share our vision and help to maintain the gallery through their support, be it by participating in events, the spread of the word or the contributions of their time and skills.
Through the mixture of art with sales-generating activities such as events, workshops, coffee and concept individual trading and partnerships with local and international organizations, we strive to create a lively, resilient hub for everyone.
We present a variety of art styles, media and artists and have a permanent collection of modern works by Turkish artists, sculptors and ceramics. Visitors are cordially invited to buy art on the gallery site. We offer plans with which art lovers can pay their works of art in affordable rates. If you think about starting or expanding your art collection, our team is here to lead and support you.
We also organize special events, including private considerations, artists' talks and meet-the-artist sessions. This autumn we have an exhibition called Rastless, about burnout and silence, in addition to autumn: tones of autumn. We also organize internal art fairs for Halloween and Christmas. You can stay up to date via all of this and more via our website, galeriegrounds.com and social media channels.