Hacettepe Art Museum

The Hacettepe Art Museum is an academic institution established by Hacettepe University with the aim of creating a contemporary “university museum model” and is the first art museum in Ankara. Opened to the public in 2005 with the exhibition titled “Collection I,” the museum seeks to document Türkiye’s recent plastic arts heritage and establish an institutional memory in the field of visual arts. The museum was created through the conversion of former storage facilities that previously belonged to the Faculty of Pharmacy at Hacettepe University’s Sıhhiye Campus.

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The fundamental purpose of the museum is to integrate the university’s academic resources with artistic production and collection activities to contribute to Ankara’s cultural infrastructure and develop a sustainable model for contemporary museum practice. The Hacettepe Art Museum aims to be an accessible space for art and education not only for the university community but also for art lovers students and children in the capital and surrounding provinces.

The institution organizes exhibitions and events covering various disciplines of contemporary art and places strong emphasis on academic artistic and cultural collaborations both within and outside the university. Within this framework it hosts both permanent collection displays and temporary exhibitions featuring national and international artists.

The Hacettepe Art Museum collection includes significant works reflecting Türkiye’s art history from the 20th century to the present. The collection encompasses an interdisciplinary diversity of media including painting sculpture ceramics original prints photography glass installation and video art.

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Notable artists represented in the museum’s collection include Burhan Doğançay Devrim Erbil Turan Erol Hikmet Onat Feyhaman Duran Osman Dinç Hüsamettin Koçan Ferhat Özgür and Gökşin Sipahioğlu. Particularly during the restoration process carried out between 2015 and 2017 the collection was significantly enriched through donations. During this period approximately 80 new works were added to the collection including eight pieces donated by Angela Doğançay.

Other artists who have contributed to the collection include Mengü Ertel Bülent Erkmen Sadık Karamustafa Jale Erzen Kemal İskender Tülin Onat Cevat Demir Hanefi Yeter Serpil Yeter Bünyamin Özgültekin Nedret Sekban Nezih Çavuşoğlu Bahri Genç Devabil Kara Bahar Kocaman Mürteza Fidan Erkan Özdilek Zafer Mintaş Çağrı Saray Orkun Mustafa Müftüoğlu Sema Ilgaz Temel Özlem Üner Mehmet Ali Uysal Mehmet Yılmaz Cezmi Orhan Atila İlkyaz Genco Gülan Nurdan Karasu Hayri Esmer Lütfi Özden Ahmet Öğüt Barış Sarıbaş and Mehmet Öğüt.

Faculty members of Hacettepe University’s Faculty of Fine Arts have also donated works to the museum’s collection during various periods. Among these contributors are Cebrail Ötgün Hasan Kıran Zuhal Baysar Serap Emmungil Nil Köken Ozan Bilginer Havva Altun Aslı Işıksal Mehdi Saadeti Seval Şener Burcu Sultan Demir Tuba Merdeşe Engin Esen Ceren Selmanpakoğlu and Okan Ercan.

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In addition to permanent exhibitions based on its collection the Hacettepe Art Museum organizes temporary exhibitions focused on contemporary art. In 2011 retrospectives of Devrim Erbil and Turan Erol were held and a collaboration exhibition was organized with Gökşin Sipahioğlu in the field of contemporary photography. In 2017 to mark the 50th anniversary of Hacettepe University the exhibition “Tomorrow Is Built Today: The New Collection of Hacettepe Art Museum” was presented to the public at CerModern.

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The museum functions not only as an exhibition space but also as a supporter of research teaching and art education activities. In particular it implements programs designed to encourage early access to art for children and young people. The museum’s mission is to promote aesthetic and artistic awareness integrate art into daily life and guide new generations toward creative thinking.

As a university-supported art institution the Hacettepe Art Museum undertakes the responsibility of preserving and promoting Türkiye’s modern and contemporary art heritage. Through its multidisciplinary collection and dynamic exhibition program it brings art into contact with a broad public. Continuing with the philosophy of “Tomorrow Is Built Today” the museum continues to contribute to the development of contemporary museum practice.