THE MUSE / Kayla Angela Njovu
The concept of my project (titled: The Muse) was to create a warm, light and inviting space that draws people in. This concept came about due to my first impression of the castle when I first arrived to Kayseri: cold, dark, empty and uninviting. Furthermore, the site visit confirmed my first impression to be true and so my goal was to design units that fix that problem. I utilised massive floor-to-ceiling windows as the front-facing facades for all my units – these windows brought in light (the spaces were light up and so that indirectly affected the castle too); drew people in because people could clearly see what was going on in the units and created a warm and welcoming environment because it was a gathering space utilised by art-lovers and outsiders could clearly see that, therefore drawing them in to join.
Narrative
I have an art assignment due soon for my course. I don’t like to do art from the dorm because there’s not enough space and I don’t like to do art from the university’s art studio because too many people are there and so it creates an overstimulating environment for me – I need space and peace to work properly. I decided to rent one of the art studios at The Muse, up to 3 people can rent the studio and I would rather share a space with 2 others rather than over 20 people.
After my classes ended for the day, I was off to The Muse. One of my friends came along with me because they had an art class around the same time I was heading off to the studio.
After parting ways with my friend on arrival, I headed to the studio. Once I got there, I was immediately blown away by the view of the of the street and beyond through these massive windows; I sat down and I got to work. Unfortunately, this art assignment is quite difficult and I can’t come up with anything. After over an hour of stress and frustration, I decided to decompress and go to the art gallery and hopefully I’ll gain some inspiration from the works there – there’s all kinds of Turkish art like tapestries, paintings, pottery, calligraphy and so I probably will find inspiration there.
After browsing through the gallery, I was able to clear my mind and find inspiration and so I got back to work. After a while, I needed a break and so I texted my friend if she’s still around, so we can hangout for a bit at the terraces.
My friend had just finished her art class and so she was telling me all about it, as we sat at one of the terraces, overlooking the vast and beautiful landscape of Kayseri. After hanging out, we parted ways and I manged to finish my work for the day and went back to my dorm.
