The ever-dynamic Moving Museum has launched its inaugural artist residency in Istanbul.

For three months, 36 international artists and 12 local artists will take over the city, among them Hito Steyerl, Jon Rafman and George Henry Longly.

Research projects include: a collaboration between Mai-Thu Perret and a Kilim workshop, an attempt to unearth Ottoman telegraph cables at the bottom of the Black Sea by Ben Schumacher, and a film on Syrian refugee camps in Turkey by Jumana Manna.

The initiative is particularly significant for Istanbul, which has seen its most important residency program, run by Platform Garanti Contemporary Art Centre, stop in 2010.

Brainchild of Aya Mousawi and Simon Sakhai, the Moving Museum was launched in Dubai in 2013 and functions as a roaming organization, staging exhibitions and events informed and inspired by the local scene welcoming it.

“We’re constantly trying to find ways to make an impact that expands beyond the exhibition walls,” Mousawi told artnet News. “Social interaction and community participation are really important for us and we thought the idea of a residency was a great way to evolve our model.”