İzmir: Ziraat Bankası Art Museum

We started our day by going to the old Ziraat Bankası [Agriculture Bank] in Konak. Not for banking purposes. But to visit the İzmir Art Museum. As Aylin had visited the museum before, only my brother joined us.

The museum is housed in the bank’s 1930’s-era building, which was constructed in the Early-Republic style … described by one source as a blend of the country’s First National architectural style and Art Deco. The museum was opened in 2023 … following a complete restoration of the building. I was happy to see that the restoration stayed faithful to the original features of the building.

The museum is fairly small … but bright and airy. Upon entering the ground floor lobby — where once banking activities were conducted — one immediately notices its crowning feature — a stained-glass ceiling in the middle of the space. Absolutely stunning. The two bank vaults have been pressed into service as information rooms, if you will, with posters of the other museums and galleries that have been founded under the auspices of the bank. What used to be offices on the first and second floors serve as galleries … the colorful art — by Turkish painters and sculptors — is well-spaced out so as not to form a chaos of color.

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