We are excited to announce the fifth residency of the MATCH project, taking place from 9 May to 5 June at K2 Urla Breathing Zone, Izmir, Türkiye. This residency welcomes Maya Aghniadis, known as Flugen, and Joana Amora, two artists whose practices intertwine sound, ecology, and participatory practices. The residency will conclude with a public exposition in November 2026, presenting the artists’ research and creative outcomes.

The residency will be hosted at K2 Urla Breathing Zone, an artist residency space set within a 45-acre forested site in Urla, Izmir. Designed for artists to live and create in close connection with nature, it offers a unique environment that fosters exchange between artistic practice and the natural landscape.

RESIDENCY PRODUCER AND HOST: K2 Contemporary Art Center (Izmir, Türkiye)
K2 Contemporary Art Center is a non-profit organization based in Izmir, Turkey. It provides a sustainable space for contemporary art, supporting both emerging and established artists through exhibitions, discussions, and public programmes. K2 also organizes PORTIZMIR, the Izmir International Contemporary Art Triennial, fostering both local and international cultural exchange.

The residency includes eight handcrafted wooden bungalows serving as both living and working spaces, alongside shared areas for work, performance, cooking, and gatherings. A central area, surrounded by pine forest, has hosted numerous artistic activities, while a small pond is also available for biological research, emphasising the connection between art, nature, and science.

Maya Aghniadis, known as Flugen, is a Lebanese musician, composer, and sound explorer blending electronic textures with organic sounds. Rooted in drumming from an early age, her musical path grew to include piano, guitar, and later, a deep interest in film scoring and sonic storytelling. Inspired by travels and life between Beirut and Athens, her music carries a sense of movement, memory, and cultural fusion. Under the name Flugen, she creates atmospheric compositions that drift between ambient, jazz, and experimental genres, often shaped by field recordings and acoustic instruments such as guitar, flute and baglama. In Izmir, she will meet and exchange ideas with local musicians, artists and scientists.

Joana Amora is a Brazilian artist and agroecological activist who creates living installations, participatory practices, and embodied relationships with the land and life. Graduated from Rio’s Fine Art School, she is currently a master student in Alsace. Since 2017, she creates site-specific works that invite transformation, interdependence, and collective imagination. Her materials include earth, seeds, mushrooms, plants, and relationships. Joana believes that life is a garden to be cultivated. Since her university exchange in Aix-en-Provence, she lives between France, Germany, and Brazil. Joana has worked in contexts like urban gardens, residencies and biennials. Her projects have been presented at the Hélio Oiticica Art Center (BR), Échangeur22 (FR), Forestival (DE), Kunstraum Kreuzlingen (CH), and the Revoada project at the Venice Biennale (IT), among others. She is currently developing ‘Planting Water’, an immersive work and documentary rooted in an urban agroforest she helped create in Rio de Janeiro. In Izmir, she will meet with actors from the local agroecological scene.