Onaranlar Kulübü (Repair Club) is a Istanbul-based collective that turns everyday urban problems into opportunities for art, design, and community participation. Founded around 2016 by a group of designers and makers, the group focuses on “repairing” the city, not only physically, but also socially and imaginatively.
An installation on Susam Sokağı which literally means the Sesame Street
Instead of treating broken or neglected urban elements as waste, they reinterpret them as creative surfaces. Street infrastructure, cracked walls, utility boxes, and forgotten corners become sites for playful, colorful interventions. Their work often transforms these ordinary objects into small-scale public artworks that make the city feel more human and alive.
A key aspect of Onaranlar Kulübü is participation. Their projects are not created in isolation; they involve volunteers, students, and local residents through workshops and open calls. This collaborative approach turns urban design into a shared experience rather than a top-down intervention.
One of my most favourite of OK’s installations in Kadiköy
Beyond street interventions, they also organize workshops on design, fabrication, and creative thinking, encouraging people to engage directly with making and repairing. In this sense, the collective acts both as an art group and an informal learning platform.
In Istanbul, their impact is subtle but meaningful. Rather than changing the city through large-scale construction, they work at a human scale—small gestures that shift how people see and relate to public space. The city becomes not just something to live in, but something to actively imagine and reshape together.
You never know, maybe one day, you can come across a ‘trace’ the Repair Club left in the city! Check them out at https://www.onaranlarkulubu.com/eng/.
Note that the video is embedded via YouTube and all rights belong to the respective rights holders.
