about the place

One of the main actors of this journey is Bodrum, the ancient city of Halicarnassus. Art Journey Halicarnassus starts here, in this ancient Carian settlement on the Western coast of Turkey by the Aegean sea which runs between Turkey and Greece.

Bodrum was founded by the Carians in the 11th century B.C. on the site of Halicarnassus, one of the most well-known cities of the ancient world. The region was invaded and occupied by a number of different peoples. In ancient times, as at the present day Anatolia was divided into different regions. According to the ancient writers, Caria reigon extended from Meander in the west to the Dalaman on the east. The region was inhabited by the Carians and the Lelegians. “In the Iliad, the Carians are referred to as an indigenious Anatolian people who were said to have joined the Trojans in the Trojan War.” (The Blue Civilization, Sözen, G. 1995, İstanbul: Akbank Culture and Art Publications/60)

About US

İpek Çankaya (Narrative Developer, Comparative Cultural Researcher, Educator, Writer)

İpek is a narrative developer in two ways: She creates conceptual frameworks for visual art exhibitions and develops visual expressions for curated exhibitions. She writes poetry and short stories.

She works on diverse layers of arts management. She teaches and makes academic research on arts and theories of culture. She has a decade of experience in running an art space, helping artists and conducting an international Artist-in-Residence Programme. She started to design halka sanat projesi as a not-for-profit art initiative in Istanbul in mid-2000s while she was pursuing her MA in Arts Management. She is its director since 2011 and resident curator since 2016. In 2017 she became a Doctor of Philosophy with her Ph.D. dissertation “A Critical View on the Relations of Art Capital, Public Space and Art Initiatives in Turkey”. In 2019 she co-initiated Art Halicanassus with Doğu Çankaya in Bodrum where she currently lives and works.

Doğu Çankaya (Artist, Initiator, M.D.)

Born in Istanbul in 1968, Doğu Çankaya makes paintings and sculptures. He opened his first solo exhibition in 1986 at Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine, where he was a student. He founded the University's Fine Arts Club. He opened an exhibition every year until he graduated in 1991. The 1990s were spent in intensive studies in professional specialization at home and abroad. During this time, he investigated the history of Eastern and Western cultures, arts and ideas and searched ways to nagivate with his art. Since the 2010s, he has been making exhibitions with halka art project, the independent art initiative of which he is one of the founders and constant supporters. He takes part in solo and group exhibitions in private galleries, independent venues and international organizations at home and abroad.

İRHM Group Exhibition (1983), Taksim Art Gallery (1990), Ankara DAM Gallery (1991), KargART Istanbul (between 2000 – 2006), Kadıköy İDO Art Gallery (2009), Halka Art Project (2011 to present), Teşvikiye GaleriMiz Istanbul (2012 and 2013), Dibeklihan Bodrum (2013), Bonnafont Gallery San Francisco (between 2012 - 2015), Trafo Bodrum (2016), DEPO Istanbul (2016), Contemporary Istanbul Contemporary Art Fair (between 2014 - 2021, 2023), Art Chamber Bomontiada (2022) MeRQez Art Alternative Art Space Bodrum (2021, 2022, 2023) are some of the institutions where he exhibited his works.

He has a studio in Istanbul Moda. He lives in Bodrum and continues his work in the studio space, which he converted from a two-century-old stone house and garden.

Doğu Çankaya is also a medical doctor specialized in Underwater Diseases and Hyperbaric Medicine.

CONTACT US: arthalicarnassus@gmail.com

İpek Çankaya & Doğu Çankaya