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What’s Happening at the IFA Paris Istanbul Campus?

The school always focuses on the wellbeing of the students who come from various different countries. The academic director of the campus, Ipek Artüz, enthusiastically presented them with what their year will look like. Aware of the possible difficulties of adapting to a foreign city, the school wishes to accompany its students as much as possible by addressing practical topics related with daily life in Istanbul, including finding an apartment and transportation.

IFA Paris Istanbul is a real melting pot of culture, as students come from various backgrounds and different countries, thus establishing a space where it is possible to discover diverse creative visions and take advantage of each other's unique skills. Amongst the student population we can meet for example Anastasiia Dodonova, a young Bachelor Fashion Design student with considerable experience in creating content for several brands and social networking platforms who aims this year to hone her sewing skills and discover the fashion scene in Istanbul. Another Bachelor Fashion Design student, Alice Amelia Monse Monzenze, is primarily interested in fashion history and hopes to gain an inside view of the fashion world.

Vakko Creative Industries Library

Istanbul is a city full of history that these students from all over the world had the chance to explore. They were able to discover İstiklal Street which contains historical sites such as the Flower Passage and St. Anthony's Church. They were also able to walk through the Pera neighborhood, which is home to many buildings steeped in history, including the Pera Palace Hotel. The purpose of this visit was to have them capture these unique places in photos as part of a photo contest that is held every fall on the Istanbul Campus.

Following this homecoming, the students had the chance to participate in several activities such as a visit to the Vakko Creative Industries Library which is the newest and most enriched art library in Turkey. During their visit, our students had the opportunity to discover content in all fields. A Vakko official explained the history and heritage of the library. Vakko Library opens new horizons for university students, artists, art lovers and tourists visiting Turkey with a constantly updated print, digital and visual archive, as well as 15,000 books with special editions from the world's most prestigious publishing houses and signed copies specific to the library.

New IFA Paris Istanbul Campus Students

Next, the 3rd year Bachelor Fashion Design students toured Arter Art Hub with their lecturer Merve Tuna, which allowed them to analyze and understand public art and relate it to their collection development project. It was a unique opportunity to immerse themselves in a place geared at questioning their perspective on contemporary art. The exhibition they attended was Selen Ansen's Locus Solus, which focuses on the idea of "nature" in order to explore its facets through the prism of fact, fiction and emotion. Arter is a sustainable and dynamic cultural hub, offering a wide range of programs accessible to all. It brings together artists and audiences through the celebration of art today in all its forms and disciplines.