Cultural Heritage Regional Art Network: Gravitas
December 2025 - September 2026
BALIKESIR, CANAKKALE, EDIRNE, TEKIRDAG
Affiliates:
BALIKESIR: Gate 27 / Ayvalik, Tunca Subaşı / Ayvalık, Serdar Yılmaz - Balikesir University, Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Graphic Design, Location Blogspot / Centre
CANAKKALE: Güneşane Foundation / Asos, İyi Bak Association / Alcitepe, MAHAL / Centre
EDIRNE: Edirne Biennial / Didem Çapa, Ruken Aslan - Trakya University, Faculty of Fine Arts
TEKIRDAG: Odd Art Space / Centre, Hora Lighthouse / Sarkoy
Gravitas is a regional art network that traces cultural memory shaped by grand narratives and mythologies and reinterprets their surviving physical manifestations through art. It aims to create a sustainable platform for collaboration and production by bringing together art initiatives, independent artists, cultural actors, and local stakeholders operating in Tekirdag, Edirne, Canakkale, and Balikesir.
The project takes its name from gravitas, a fundamental concept in the Aeneas Epic. Gravitas, symbolizing a sense of responsibility towards society and a sense of public ethics, shares the same Latin origin as the English word "gravity," which is used today to refer to gravity. Thus, within the context of the project, Gravitas signifies both a shared responsibility for historical and cultural values and the central position of art as a "center of gravity" on a social level.
As part of the project, individuals and institutions working in the fields of culture and arts in four cities will be brought together through artistic production and events centered around archaeological sites and spaces representing historical memory, thus making the local potential visible. A process will be designed that considers the unique dynamics of each city focusing on cultural heritage layers, and is compatible with the local context.
The Gravitas Project aims to create a model that explores how shared cultural heritage can be revitalized in different local contexts through art and how regional cooperation can accelerate cultural production, contributing not only to the preservation of cultural heritage but also to its re-interpretation and socialization through contemporary art practices.
