About us
Hey everyone,
This is a space for adults navigating life between languages, cultures, and versions of themselves. Moving to another country rarely announces itself as a single event. It settles quietly into daily life, into the words you reach for and don't find, into the small grief of being fluent in one language and yourself in another. I know this from the inside.
I'm Deniz, a psychologist who moved to Hamburg two and a half years ago. I'm still apartment hunting, still working on my German. Some days the city feels like mine and some days it still feels like a place I'm visiting. This group grew out of that in-between space, I needed such space for myself first. Our workshops sit at the intersection of psychology and art. We draw on creative and reflective practices, writing, sound, image, and conversation, not as decoration but as a way back into feeling and thinking that words alone sometimes can't reach. Each session is structured but unhurried, rooted in psychological safety, and facilitated by me as a licensed psychologist with training in existential and person-centered approaches.
In practice, this means small and interactive sessions built around guided reflection, creative exercises, and group dialogue, where the goal is to sit with the expat experience rather than rush past it: the migration journey itself, questions of identity and belonging, and the slow, uneven process of adapting to a new life. No artistic skill, professional background, or particular fluency is required. What's needed is a willingness to show up and let something unfold. This group is organized under Ara Mekân, a Hamburg-based multilingual platform for adults with migration experience and anyone who values cultural diversity. Sessions are offered in Turkish, English, and German, with sliding-scale pricing so that cost is not a barrier to belonging. Beyond this group, Ara Mekân also runs 8-week well-being groups, individual and couples counseling, and community events across Hamburg.
If you're curious, come to a session before deciding anything. You can find upcoming dates and pricing if you register to the newsletter at the bottom of my website (aramekan.de/en) by filling out the form "Join Us", or simply reach out with questions (info@aramekan.de). There is no obligation to have it figured out before you arrive. I certainly didn't have it figured out either. That's rather the point. Hope to meet you soon.
All the best,
Deniz
Upcoming events
2
Mindful Culture Walk: Hamburg Art Week Edition
The Space, Kaiser-Wilhelm-Straße 14, Hamburg, DEJoin us on Saturday, 5 September for an intimate afternoon of art, mindful looking and connection. Together, we’ll walk through Hamburg, visiting three galleries and FIRE. From the Cosmos to the Commons at the St. Nikolai Memorial.
At each stop, we’ll take a little time to pause, look and be present through simple mindful exercises, creating space to experience the artworks beyond the usual gallery visit.Tickets: https://luma.com/6ru3i9sb
👟 Full Itinerary upon registration (We notify you if changes)
1:00–1:30 PM — THE SPACE //
Kaiser-Wilhelm-Straße 14, 20355 Hamburg
Gallery visit + mindful looking exercise
1:35–2:05 PM — MASSOUMI
Stadthausbrücke 6, 20355 Hamburg
Gallery visit
2:10–2:40 PM — GALLERY KAUFMANN
Admiralitätsstraße 71, 20459 Hamburg
Gallery visit
2:50–3:10 PM — FIRE: From the Cosmos to the Commons
St. Nikolai Memorial
Willy-Brandt-Straße 60, 20457 Hamburg
Guided reflection
3:10 PM — Walk concludesWhat’s included?
Your ticket is for the guided walk experience, where we take you as a group to selected exhibitions, introduce you directly to participating galleries, and add fun activities and opportunities to connect along the way.
You’re not just visiting exhibitions on your own, you’re experiencing the art, galleries and city together with a curated group.
The route is intentionally short and focused, giving us enough time to look closely without rushing from one exhibition to the next.
No art expertise required. Just bring your curiosity, comfortable shoes and an openness to slow down.Saturday, 5 September
1:00–3:10 PM
📍 Hamburg
🎟 Only 16 Slots AvailableHosted by Characters × Ara Mekan
Come to look differently. Leave feeling connected.# About Characters Hamburg
Characters Hamburg is a snail mailing and members club. We publish and creates curated experiences for people shaping your city’s creative, cultural, and entrepreneurial landscape. Brought to you by Prazzle.
# About Ara Mekan
**Ara Mekân** (translating roughly from Turkish as "the in-between space" or "space of pause") is a psychology, art, and community platform based in Hamburg, Germany, founded by psychologist Dr. phil. Deniz Kücüker. It serves as a multilingual, trauma-informed "safer space" for adults particularly expats and individuals navigating life between different languages, cultures, and identities.
1 attendee- €60.00
Sarma für Alle: A Trilingual Cooking Workshop
Mute Space, Rutschbahn 8, Hamburg, DEHey everyone,
I'm Deniz. I moved to Hamburg two and a half years ago and built my practice, Ara Mekân, from scratch. I know from experience that moving across borders and finding your flow somewhere new can be hard. But sometimes all it takes to feel at home is a warm kitchen, a shared table, and the ritual of preparing food together.
"Sarma für Alle" is a hands-on cooking workshop that treats a stuffed vine leaf as a way into larger questions: how communities carry knowledge of food and belonging across generations, and how that same knowledge can help us feel at home somewhere new. Sarma's roots reach into ancient Mesopotamia and the Eastern Mediterranean, refined in Ottoman palace kitchens and carried since across the Balkans, the Caucasus, and the Middle East, shaped along the way by each region's own herbs and occasions for celebration.
We'll work from a family recipe, sit together, roll leaves with our hands, and share our own food memories along the way. No cooking experience is needed, just a willingness to show up.
1 attendee
Past events
2
