Pigments, Colors and Ideas International Symposium

Organized by the Faculty of Humanities and Letters and the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture, “Pigments, Colors and Ideas,” is an event that includes an international symposium and two exhibitions for the 100th year of the Turkish Republic. Inspired by the national colors of Turkey, red and white, the symposium will explore concepts of pigments, colors and ideas. It will take place November 23 and 24.   

“We are so happy to be organizing a symposium on colors for the first time in Turkey. The symposium will have a holistic approach and will be combined with contemporary artistic creations and students’ works. We are proud to be organizing this event for the 100th centennial of the Turkish Republic,” said Prof. Dominique Kassab Tezgör, chair of the Department of Archaeology and the coordinator of the symposium and the event itself. 

Two art exhibitions, coordinated by Ekin Kılıç Ezer of the Department of Graphic Design, will run parallel to the symposium. Students and faculty members of the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture, together with well-known national artists, will present works of paintings, graphic art, printmaking, ceramics and other media specifically devoted to the use of “sinopia,” the red pigment of Cappadocia. Prof. Yasemin Afacan, chair of the Department of Interior Architecture and Environmental Design, together with Müge Mengü Hale of the Department of Communication and Design, will facilitate the logistics of this event.  

The event’s opening will take place November 23rd in the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations. Prof. Yenişehirlioğlu, director of VEKAM (Koç University), will give the inaugural lecture of the symposium. A concert by İpek Dereli and her ensemble will follow the lecture. Afterward, the opening ceremony of the “Sinopia Contemporary Art Exhibition,” mentored by Ekin Kılıç Ezer, will take place in the unique atmosphere of the antique remains of the museum.    

On November 24, the symposium will be held at Bilkent University and will gather scholars from abroad and other universities in Turkey as well as from Bilkent itself.  

A second exhibition of two workshops will follow the symposium, “Exploring Sinopia,”mentored by Beata Zalewska of the Department of Fine Arts and “Sinopia: Pigments, Colors and Textures Workshop,” mentored by Ekin Kılıç Ezer in the FADA Exhibition Hall. On November 25, there will be a day trip to the archaeological site of Gordion, named a UNESCO world heritage site this September. 

For further information, please visit pci.bilkent.edu.tr and watch Pigments, Colors and Ideas on the Youtube channel of Bilkent COMD. 


23-24 November 2023, FADA Exhibition Hall