Vancouver-based artist Derya Akay re-creates a Turkish marketplace at the Polygon, to August 1

The living installation, Meydan, features everything from blown glass to fermentation

Derya Akay: Meydan runs at the Polygon until August 1 in collaboration with the Burrard Arts Foundation.

IN TURKEY, A town centre that serves as a marketplace as much as a social hub is known as a meydan, a busting place to exchange goods and connect with your neighbours.

Vancouver-based Turkish artist Derya Akay is re-creating such a public space in his new installation at the Polygon. Meydan is a kind of living artwork on the gallery’s main floor, where it will evolve over time as flowers dry, fermentation bubbles along, and seasonal fruit displays get added.

Salvaged materials, sculptural displays, hand-blown glass, ceramics, and more make up the exhibition.

Akay will be working on Meydan live throughout the three-month run, primarily on Thursdays.

With a Bachelor’s of Fine Art from Emily Carr University, the artist represented by Unit 17 has presented work in San Francisco, Mexico City, Los Angeles, and beyond. His local exhibitions include Ambivalent Pleasures at Vancouver Art Gallery and Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner & Supper at Centre A.

Meydan is the fourth in a 10-year commissioning program of new public artworks installed at the Polygon collaboration with the Burrard Arts Foundation.

More information is at the Polygon.

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Gail Johnson

Gail Johnson is cofounder of Stir. She is a Vancouver-based journalist who has earned local and national nominations and awards for her work. She is a certified Gladue Report writer via Indigenous Perspectives Society in partnership with Royal Roads University and is a member of a judging panel for top Vancouver restaurants.

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