Zeyno Pekünlü and Massimiliano Mollona were awarded the 2017 AFIELD fellowship for their initiative Solidarity Academies.

Drawing on the experience accumulated in the past year by the Street Academies in Turkey, Solidarity Schools in Athens and similar experiences around the Mediterranean region, Zeyno Pekünlü and Massimiliano Mollona wish to create a new academic platform where pedagogy intersects with activism, protecting freedom of speech from both political pressure and constraints of neoliberal market. The grant supports the research and writing of a report on 12 existing organisations across Turkey by a group of academics dismissed from their positions after signing a petition for peace addressed to the Turkish government. It also helps to launch an international Solidarity Academies project based in the Mediterranean region to reflect on alternative education collectives in Europe.

In 2018, Massimilano Mollona will become the mentor of Giuseppe Micciarelli, a resercher in policy making and culture focusing on the use of urban space for culture in Naples.

Zeyno Pekünlü (Izmir, Turkey, 1980) is an artist/activist based in Istanbul. She is part of several activist initiatives focusing on commoning practices and solidarity spaces in Istanbul. She is one of the petitioners of ‘Academics for Peace’ and she is part of Istanbul Solidarity Academy. She was editor of several national and international publications and she recently coordinated the public programme of the 15th Istanbul Biennial. ¹

Massimiliano Mollona (Rome, Italy, 1969) is a writer, filmmaker and anthropologist. His practice, situated at the intersection of pedagogy, art and activism, focuses on the relationships between art and political economy. He conducted extensive fieldwork in Italy, UK, Norway and Brazil, looking at the relationships between economic development and political identity through participatory and experimental film projects. He was artistic director of the last Athens Biennial. ²