Baksı Museum prepares for new tourism season

BAYBURT - Anadolu Agency

The Baksı Museum, which was founded in 2010 at a location 45 kilometers away from the southeastern province of Bayburt’s Baksı village and brings together contemporary art and traditional handicrafts under the same roof, is preparing for the new tourism season. 

The museum was awarded with the Council of Europe Museum Prize in 2014 by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe’s (PACE) Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media.

The founder of the museum and the Baksı Culture and Arts Foundation, Professor Hüsamettin Koçan, said the foundation celebrated its 10th anniversary this year. 

He said an international museum congress would be held in the museum between July 23 and 26 with the title “Regional Museums as Generators of Development.”

He said 22 representatives of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) would join the congress, adding, “This means that European and Asian museums’ representatives and museum organizations will visit Bayburt and Baksı. It is a very important event to us. The projects here will be reconsidered with an international point of view.”

Koçan said the congress would be held in Turkey for the first time. “The popularity brought by the European Council Award that the Baksı Museum received in 2014 is the reason for this,” he added. 

He also noted a new exhibition would open in the museum for the 10th anniversary of the foundation. 

“Our German curator friend is organizing an exhibition with the headline of ‘10.’ He displays traditional and contemporary pieces together in the museum. For example, a Bayburt kilim will be displayed with the work of a well-known contemporary artist beside it. He creates such couples. This is very exciting for us. We will open this exhibition in August with big concerts and other events,” the professor said. 

Women’s employment center

Koçan said one of the other significant events of the year would be the establishment of a center for women’s employment.

“We have a land of 1,150 square meters in the Kaleardı neighborhood. This project has been prepared recently. The project will be opposite the Bayburt Castle. It will be made of massive Bayburt stone. The building will make a reference to the tiles of the castle. In this way, we will greet the castle,” he said. 

Koçan said they would establish a natural dye center in one part of the women’s employment center.

“Threads will be dyed there, natural dye will be produced; maybe we will give them to the cosmetics industry. Natural dyes have a significant market. We will found a performance hall in one floor of the center. There will also be weaving ateliers as well as a big library. We will also make a few rooms for guests visiting the village to stay in.” 

He said only women would be employed in the center. “There are women who moved to Bayburt from a village. They are hardworking people. We want to make them a part of the production process. If we design their productions with a contemporary viewpoint and present them to the international market, it will bring a very big economic input.”

Drawing attention to a new trend in the world, Koçan said, “This is a very expensive trend; natural dye, natural material and hand-made products. We have a chance to make all of them. If we can make it, we can start international marketing thanks to the popularity of our museum.” 

Koçan said the Baksı Museum received many applications this year in the field of culture tourism. “We want to present more authentic designs to our guests. This is why Turkey’s 10 best-known artists design small objects for the museum. Probably we will attempt to market these small objects during the museum congress. In this way, Baksı’s local designs will be sold in European and Asian museums stores. We can also move to other continents from there,” he said.