Research

Research projects and exhibitions 

Digital Icons of Protest
Digital archiving exhibition
Newcastle University (September 2014 – current)
HaSS Faculty funded project

This project involved conducting research and delivering an online exhibition site entitled 'Digital Icons of Protest' as part of the Making the Archives Public: Digital Skills, Research and Public Engagement project at Newcastle University (UTLSEC Innovation Fund project 2014/15). This exhibition was built on the research which I conducted in Istanbul and used interview data I had collected to build narrative around the digital iconography presented in the exhibition. During this project I was trained in: A) Digital Archiving: Researching both physical and digital archives, constructing and maintaining a database of meta-data, gaining a basic understanding of copyright law, learning how to use the Omeka platform, learning how to edit using basic coding. B) Digital Exhibitions: Researching protest iconography, handling archive objects and digitizing them, thematic analysis of research data, identifying themes for exhibition, constructing narrative, coding a Tag-Cloud, constructing social media feeds for exhibition and planning integration of social media feeds to exhibition via interactive visual platforms such as StoryGami.

To view the digital exhibition see: Web Link
 

Self-Mediation and Protest

Solo research expedition

Istanbul, Turkey (June-August 2014)
Funded by Newcastle University Expeditions Committee

This research explored practices of visual self-mediation at the 2013 Gezi Park Protest in Istanbul.  The overall research project spanned over two years and I was the first student from the School of Arts and Cultures to be awarded funding by Newcastle University Expeditions Committee to conduct an independent eight week Solo Research Expedition in Istanbul. To obtain funding I carried out extensive research and logistical planning in order to compose the funding application. Prior to departing I forged and maintained relationships with academics (both in Sweden and UK) and with educational institutions and a photography institution (Bilgi University and Galata Fotografhanesi in Istanbul). During the expedition I conducted qualitative interviews, visual ethnography and logged the research process. Post-research I presented my findings at the Expeditions conference and was awarded a Commendation Award. I have since been invited to present the paper at the Foundation of Art and Creative Technology in Liverpool.

To view the paper see: PDF Link