Alanya – 21st Stone Sculpture Symposium in 2026
Alanya Stone Sculpture Symposium – This year marks the 21st edition of the symposium (known in Turkish as the Uluslararası Alanya Taş Heykel Sempozyumu).
This cultural event now a well-established tradition in Alanya has been taking place since 2004, and we have reported on it several times in the past. As in previous years, dozens of sculptors from around the world apply to participate in creating stone sculptures.
A panel of experts selects ten international and national artists; these artists then travel to Alanya to work on their pieces live on-site. Due to the intense summer heat, the artists usually arrive in November or December, working outdoors in traditional public locations such as the harbour road, the Red Tower, or Cleopatra Beach. The finished sculptures remain in the city, permanently installed in public parks and along streets to artistically enhance the cityscape. Naturally, a large number of stone sculptures have accumulated over the years, so it is hardly surprising to encounter them, particularly along the beach promenades.
The Alanya Stone Sculpture Symposium is organized jointly by the Alanya Municipality, the renowned Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, and the tourism promotion foundation ALTAV.
Since the symposium’s inception, the artworks have been displayed in parks and along the beach promenades.
The sculptures created in the workshop areas behind City Hall are first exhibited to the local public on November 30th in a designated area behind the Alanya municipal building. All sculptures created during the symposium are subsequently placed in various green spaces, parks, and other areas, where they are attractively labelled with the artist's name and the title of the work. This allows residents and, of course, visitors from around the world to view, photograph, and appreciate the works of renowned sculptors.
Mayor Osman Tarik Özcelik: Everyone is cordially invited to view the artworks.
Alanya Mayor Osman Tarik Özcelik stated: "The sculptures created as part of the International Sculpture Symposium we organized have transformed Alanya into an open-air exhibition. They have played a significant role in bringing our community into contact with this art form. We look forward to welcoming the public to our symposium site this November."
Prof. Bülent Çınar, Prof. Neslihan Pala, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ömer Emre Yavuz, Asst. Prof. Dr. Derya Özşen, Alanya Municipal Council Member and architect Melike Nazifoğlu, Alanya Municipality Parks and Gardens Manager Nazmi Uyar, and Alanya Municipality staff member and painter Emine Nur Sargullar.
As a reminder, here are the sculptors who participated in the 18th International Stone Sculpture Symposium in Alanya: Ayhan Yılmaz (Turkey), Bertha Shortıss (Switzerland), Bouazız Mohamed (Tunisia), Claudia Zanaga (Italy), Ercan Yılmaz (Turkey), Esfandyar Moradpour (Iran), Genti Tavanxhiu (Italy), Malkhaz Tasiskadze (Georgia), Tolga Yurtözveri (Turkey), and Volodymyr Kochmar (Ukraine).
For this year's 21st International Alanya Stone Sculpture Symposium, 108 sculptors from 42 countries applied; nine lead artists were selected to create their monumental stone works, this time in the Dinek district.
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