First Anatolian Awards presented
ISTANBUL
The winners of the Anatolian Awards, organized for the first time this year by the Baksı Foundation for Culture and Arts to appreciate productions that contribute to the common identity of Anatolia, were announced on Nov. 12.
The award ceremony, which was held online due to the COVID-19 measures, was broadcast live on the Baksı Culture and Arts Foundation’s YouTube channel.
Speaking at the opening, the founder of Baksı Culture and Art Foundation and Museum, artist and academic, Professor Hüsamettin Koçan, said the Anatolian Awards is a project of collective contributions.
Stating that they went through a stimulating process while preparing for the Anatolian Awards, Koçan said: “This was the case for both our boards, the jury, including the participants. In addition to the variety of projects suggested by our participants, non-governmental organizations, individuals, local administrations and official government organizations also presented us many projects.”
“What pleased us the most was not just the pluralist participation and diversity, but the fact that the projects were taken very seriously,” he added.
Pointing out that they saw in participatory projects that there is a tremendous power that connects the cultural accumulation of Anatolia to this age, Koçan said: “Being able to announce and share this event at this level has made us more hopeful about these awards in the future. In this way, I think a way has been opened to restore Anatolia to its old cultural abundance, energy and old diversity.”
Doğlan Hızlan, the chairperson of the selection committee of the awards, underlined the importance of the Anatolian Awards in his speech, saying: “I am always interested in awards that include Anatolia other than the metropolitan cities. Another function of these awards is that those who work quietly, reach more people, and understand that what they do is worthy of the award.”
Within the scope of the awards, a total of 133 projects from 35 Turkish provinces were evaluated in the categories “Museology,” “Periodic Events,” “Performing Arts,” “Archeology” and “Restoration.”
Sivas Kayalıpınare won the award in the “Archeology” category in which 13 projects participated. Odunpazarı Modern Museum in Eskişehir won in the “Museology” category. The Eskişehir Metropolitan Municipality Symphony Orchestra and Van Akdamar Children and Youth Theaters Festival won the award in the “Performing Arts” category with equal votes.
In the “Restoration” category, the Museum Hotel Antakya was deemed worthy of an award for the process of uncovering and preserving the single-piece floor mosaic, which is believed to date back to the second century B.C. and which also bear the traces of 13 different civilizations.
Çanakkale Biennial received an award in the “Periodical Events” category, which received the most applications from the competition with 48 projects.
In addition to the Anatolian Awards, the Siirt Başur Mound excavations, conducted by the Ege and Pamukkale Universities, won an award within the scope of the Baksı Foundation’s Contribution to the Field Awards.
Erzurum Metropolitan Municipality was also awarded the Cultural Road Project in the “Restoration” category.
