Gülhane Sanat, opened in the Gülhane Cistern, which has been placed under protection through the work of İBB Miras, is hosting young artist Kıymet Altunyurt’s solo exhibition Kolektif “Yol” (Collective “Path”)! Kolektif “Yol” meets art lovers as the latest exhibition of Mina’nın Çocukları (Mina’s Children), the social responsibility project run by the Istanbul Branch of the Turkish Association of University Women (TÜKD). Shaped around “Kor” (Ember), an installation conceived specifically for the venue by Altunyurt, an architecture graduate who grew up within the association, the exhibition brings together ideas of memory, transformation and healing together with the layered atmosphere of the cistern. Organised with the support of İBB Kültür and İBB Miras, the Kolektif “Yol” exhibition can be visited free of charge at Gülhane Sanat until 11 March, every day except Monday, from 10.00 to 18.00.
Launched to keep alive the memory of businesswoman Mina Başaran and her friends, who lost their lives in a plane crash in 2018, the social responsibility project Mina’nın Çocukları aims to support young women in education, the arts and their careers, empowering them in every area of life, preparing them for working life and helping to nurture the opinion leaders of tomorrow. Believing in the transformative power of art and regarding it as its responsibility to open up spaces where young women can express themselves, the project, through the importance it places on art and collective creativity, has carried the voices and stories of many artists to date. With its new exhibition, Mina’nın Çocukları takes its mission of supporting young women a step further.
A SITE-SPECIFIC INSTALLATION: “KOR”
The project’s new exhibition, Kolektif “Yol”, centres on a site-specific installation by Kıymet Altunyurt, a young architecture graduate who grew up within TÜKD. Altunyurt makes her personal experience and its layers visible through the conceptual relationship she builds with the space. The spatial installation “Kor” explores how the endless alternative paths in an individual’s search for selfhood intertwine with collective consciousness. Rooted in the discipline of architecture, Altunyurt’s perspective treats the space not merely as a place of display but as a structure to be experienced, walked through and unfolded layer by layer in thought. “Kor” lifts viewers out of the role of passive observers and invites them to become part of a collective path.
The strong bond formed with the Mina’nın Çocukları project forms the conceptual foundation of the work. The young artist’s long journey, made possible by a travel grant funded through donations to the project and the funds it has established, feeds the installation’s rhythmic, abstract narrative through the testimonies, encounters and connections gathered across different places. This creative process makes visible not only the individual’s own path but also the space of existence she rebuilds with the strength drawn from the collective.
A COLLECTIVE SPACE WHERE PATHS CROSS: GÜLHANE SANAT
With venue support from İBB Miras, the Kolektif “Yol” exhibition meets its audience in the public realm, in a cultural heritage site that unites the city’s historic routes. Created within the Gülhane Cistern, which for centuries stored water, the source of life, GülhaneSanat strengthens the exhibition’s narrative as a counterpart to converging paths. Meeting its audience not in the context of a closed gallery but in a public space at the heart of city life, the Kolektif “Yol” exhibition foregrounds the accessibility of art and its direct contact with the city on the Historic Peninsula, while reminding us once more of art’s capacity to create collective experience.
Kıymet Altunyurt’s solo exhibition Kolektif “Yol” can be visited free of charge at Gülhane Sanat in Gülhane Park from 1 to 11 March 2026, every day except Monday, from 10.00 to 18.00.
