Artistic Initiative at the Digital Game Design Department at Istinye University

On the weekend between April 10 and 12, 2026, the Department of Digital Game Design hosted DOT INTRA, the democratically evaluated, multiple-category, intra-departmental art jam at the Vadi İstanbul campus of İstinye University. This event was organized as a small-scale internal initiative. It also serves as a test run for similar activities that may be held within the department with the hopes of using this particular event as a preliminary framework for such events.

Participation in the event was exclusively open to the Digital Game Design department’s students and was structured around three categories: Fine Art, Video/Animation, and Fabrication.

Each category had its own theme that focuses on evoking a specific feeling and came with its own set of rules and challenges:

• Fine Arts were tasked with eliciting a “sense of adventure” through analog or digital print formats which included voyage brochures, propaganda posters, pop-art, etc…

• Video/Animations were expected to explore the “sense of advertisement” with seamlessly looping digital videos reminiscent of TV series intro sequences, short ads, as well as oddly satisfying videos, and loop art.

• Fabrication submissions focused on the “sense of advancement” and invited the students to create small-scale objects using accessible materials and straightforward assembly techniques to create objects which matches the theme with aesthetics such as cyberpunk, NASA-punk, cassette futurism, etc…

Students who participated in the event worked on their crafts on campus throughout the weekend for 72 hours and submitted their work at the end of the jam to be shown in a two-week exhibition that started on Monday, April 13 at the Vadi Istanbul Campus. During this exhibition, the students’ work was available for everyone on campus to see. And this is where the “democratically evaluated” part comes in: All students and faculty members from the Digital Game Design Department are invited to vote for their favorite work across all categories. All votes carry equal weight and the evaluation process will not involve a jury.

Voting is currently open. Votes will be collected until Friday, May 1 and the winners will be announced shortly after.