Baksi Museum presents Familiar: Making nontraditional art from traditional materials

Bayburt’s hidden gem, Baksi Museum, published the virtual tour of Germany-based Turkish artist Sakir Gokcebag’s Familiar exhibit on Youtube. Located in Bayburt’s Bayraktar Village, Baksi Museum is the region’s main arts and culture center with exhibition halls, a conference hall, library, and guest houses. Husamettin Kocan, an artist from Bayburt, first came up with the idea of establishing such an arts center in 2000, but the financing of the project was nowhere to be found. To make his dream come true, Kocan established a foundation in 2005, and together with volunteers and artists, the museum was completed in

2010 without any government support.

“The purpose of the museum is to create an original center of cultural interaction involving traditional and contemporary arts for the benefit of artists and researchers, to revive a cultural environment shattered by migration, and to contribute toward the sustainability of the cultural memory,” the website of Baksi Museum explains. Traditions and memories of a culture facing extinction are now under protection in this arts center. From sculptures to ceramics, oil paintings, installations, and photographs, the Baksi Museum offers a variety of exhibitions by local artists. Born and raised in Turkey, Sakir Gokcebag was among the local artists who found a spot in the museum. Gokcebag is known for his unique works of art created with every-day objects. In 2001, the artist moved to Germany and continued his career abroad, but that didn’t stop him from meeting his audience in Turkey. His latest solo exhibition, Familiar, is the artist’s biggest solo exhibition in Turkey up to date.

Despite the outbreak, Baksi Museum is now offering an online experience of Gokcebag’s non-traditional installations. Narrated by the Bayraktar Village’s local authority, Nabi Akcelik, the video displays Gokcebag’s photographs and installations made with traditional materials, of which many are indigenous to the region. “We found a way to meet art lovers with our museum despite the coronavirus outbreak,” said

Nabi Akcelik. In a phone call, Akcelik said an art teacher who is also interested in photography volunteered to direct and edit the video.