The First Hammer Strike at the Symposium Came from Mayor Özçelik

The official opening of the 19th Alanya International Stone Sculpture Symposium took place this year. Mayor Osman Tarık Özçelik emphasized that, for the first time, the event is being held at İskele Şelale Square to encourage more public participation. He invited all residents to attend the symposium, which will continue until December 20.

The opening ceremony was organized by Alanya Municipality, the Alanya Tourism Promotion Foundation (ALTAV), and Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University. Participants included Mayor Osman Tarık Özçelik, Deputy Mayor Murat Levent Koçak, advisors Abdurrahman Açıkalın, Faruk Konukçu, Sadık Dizdaroğlu, Nazmi Zavlak, municipal department managers, city council members, and sculptors.

This year, the symposium is being held at İskele Şelale Square for the first time and features 10 sculptors from 7 countries. Participants include Associate Professor Yıldız Güner from Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University and artists from Turkey (Abdülkadir Hocaoğlu, Ezgi Bahadır, Robin Çoban), China (Gao Meng), the UK (Rob Good), Spain (Pedro Jordan), Canada (Galina Stetco), Serbia (Masha Paunovic), and Ukraine (Vasily Tatarskyy).

A NEW LOCATION FOR THE SYMPOSIUM

Mayor Osman Tarık Özçelik presented gifts to the sculptors and thanked them for their participation. With the first strike of a hammer on a marble block, he officially inaugurated the symposium, noting that out of 140 applications from artists in 46 countries, 10 were selected. He highlighted that the event has been organized in collaboration with Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University for many years, but this year’s venue change aims to involve the public, especially children, more actively.

"We want children to learn about this art form and meet the artists. Some of the sculptures created here will be displayed in the landscaping around our new municipal service building," Özçelik said, inviting everyone to attend the symposium until December 20.