Antalya’s historic quarter hosts climate-themed art program during COP31
Summary: Kaleiçi, Antalya’s walled historic quarter, is hosting a series of art exhibitions on climate, recycling and marine pollution during COP31, which runs in the city from November 9 to 20. Its historic hotels are close to full, and the conference site is being converted into a permanent congress and fair center.
Kaleiçi, the walled historic quarter of Antalya, has become one of the city’s main cultural venues for COP31, the United Nations climate conference running in Antalya from November 9 to 20. Its hotels, museums and monuments are hosting a program of art exhibitions on the climate crisis, recycling, marine pollution and cultural heritage.
The exhibitions form part of COP TOWN, a program organized by Muratpaşa Municipality, which covers Antalya’s city center, under the theme “If the Mediterranean Changes, So Does Humanity.” The largest show, “If the Mediterranean Changes,” brings together 11 artists at a Kaleiçi hotel under curator Enver Güner of Akdeniz University’s Faculty of Fine Arts, examining the effect of climate change on cities and biodiversity.
At the Karatay Madrasa, “Transforming Hope” shows 11 artists’ work with discarded objects. The Suna and İnan Kıraç Kaleiçi Museum hosts Özgül Kahraman’s “Silent Contact,” which uses fingerprints as a metaphor for human impact on ecosystems. Hadrian’s Gate, the Roman arch at the entrance to the old town, carries a video installation by Serkan Türk, and sculptor Arif Durukan is showing works carved solely from Limra stone, a limestone native to the province, to minimize their carbon footprint.
Antalya Metropolitan Municipality is running a parallel program of concerts and guided walks at Kaleiçi, Hıdırlık Tower, the Clock Tower and the Karatay Madrasa.
The district, whose history runs through Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman rule, is also absorbing much of the conference’s accommodation demand. Anadolu Agency reported ahead of the summit that occupancy at Kaleiçi’s historic hotels for the COP31 dates was approaching 100%, with the conference falling at the end of Antalya’s busy tourism season.
The conference is also leaving permanent infrastructure behind. Murat Kurum, Türkiye’s Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, said preparations included completing the 38-kilometer (24-mile) Belek Tourism Road. They also included converting the former EXPO 2016 site, where COP31 is being held, into a permanent fair, congress and event center. That gives a region built on beach holidays a venue to compete for year-round conference business.
