The Turkish Cultural Route Festival kicked off with an art-filled start in Manisa, which it included on its route for the first time this year. The new Manisa Museum brought a contemporary breath of fresh air to the city's cultural heritage with its interactive structure and rich collection.
Manisa was the second stop this year for the Türkiye Culture Route Festival, organised by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Included on the festival route for the first time, the city welcomed art lovers of all ages on the first day of the event.
Within the scope of the festival, the Manisa Museum and Provincial Public Library were opened with the participation of the Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy.
In his speech, Ersoy said, "As you all know, Anatolia's civilizational heritage is so rich that we cannot find a single example or equal to it anywhere else in the world. Manisa is a city that has filled its stash to the brim with this table of civilisations."
"With this work, we will, God willing, enable both our people and our foreign guests to learn, understand, and learn in detail the richness preserved in that ancient monument, as well as the unique history and culture of our city. This contemporary complex, which we have built as a work befitting Manisa, has a closed area of 8,245 square meters and includes an exhibition area of approximately 2,400 square meters."
"The New Manisa Museum was designed with interactive presentation techniques, aiming to empower visitors to be both viewers and experiencers," said the Minister, continuing: "The films, digital applications, information panels, and animations used within this contemporary approach, which support thematic exhibitions, increase interest, foster curiosity, and add value to our museum and add pleasure and convenience to the learning process. Currently, we exhibit over 1,700 artefacts in our museum. The exhibits include a diversity and richness ranging from terracotta, glass, and bone to stone, bronze, and gold artefacts."
Journey to Anatolia with artificial intelligence
Artist Gökhan Doğan's AI-powered work, "Traveler: Anatolian Civilizations," was displayed in the Manisa Museum Courtyard. The work, which interprets Anatolian history from Göbeklitepe to the present day using lidar and image processing technologies, attracted considerable attention from visitors.
The "Journey to the Roots Digital Art Exhibition" opened in the museum's temporary exhibition hall. Featuring works selected from the Ankara State Museum of Painting and Sculpture archives reinterpreted with digital touches by ten artists, the exhibition brings together traditional art and digital technology.