Folkart, hosted by İzmir Metropolitan Municipality, brings a unique exhibition to İzmir that sheds light on the life and art of Nâzım Hikmet, one of the most influential figures in Turkish and world literature: 'Romantika: Bir Ömrün Seyrüseferi'
The largest and most comprehensive exhibition project dedicated to Nâzım Hikmet ever presented in Türkiye, 'Romantika: Bir Ömrün Seyrüseferi' explores the poet’s life, artistic production, and enduring influence through documents, manuscripts, personal belongings, and audiovisual materials brought together from major archives and collections in Türkiye and abroad.
Curated by architect and Nâzım Hikmet researcher M. Melih Güneş, with exhibition design by Ömer Durmaz, Lecturer at Dokuz Eylül University, 'Romantika: Bir Ömrün Seyrüseferi' brings together a range of disciplines including literature, painting, sculpture, photography, film, and design, taking visitors on a multilayered journey through Nâzım Hikmet’s world.
Spanning 2,125 square metres across 15 galleries at the Kültürpark Atlas Pavilion, the exhibition features rare and previously unknown documents and original objects, as well as materials being presented to the public for the first time.
Highlights include:
- Previously unpublished photographs of Nâzım Hikmet
- Rare photographs and signed prints from the Ara Güler Archive, exhibited for the first time
- Documents and objects from the Vera Tulyakova Hikmet Archive, alongside materials from major archives in Türkiye and abroad
- A life-size replica of Nâzım Hikmet’s monumental tomb in Moscow, together with previously unseen design sketches
- An artwork created especially for the exhibition by Sedat Girgin, inspired by Nâzım Hikmet’s “Kuvâyi Milliye Destanı”
Taking its name from “Romantika,” the original title of Nâzım Hikmet’s autobiographical novel “Yaşamak Güzel Şey Be Kardeşim”, the exhibition invites visitors to rediscover the poet’s life journey, works, and intellectual world, beginning in İzmir and extending across different geographies.
More than a literary and artistic event, this exhibition offers a multilayered space for discovery, tracing the story of a lifetime, a homeland, and the enduring hope for a better world.
“Romantika: Bir Ömrün Seyrüseferi” explores Nâzım Hikmet’s life not only through familiar biographical milestones, but also through documents, personal belongings, photographs, works of art, and moments from his life.
One of the exhibition’s central themes is Izmir. Nâzım Hikmet’s time in Izmir in 1925, together with the connections established through “Güneşi İçenlerin Türküsü” and “Kuvâyi Milliye,” places the city at the heart of the exhibition’s narrative.
The exhibition takes its name from “Romantika,” the original title of Nâzım Hikmet’s autobiographical novel “Yaşamak Güzel Şey Be Kardeşim.” The novel begins in a small hut in İzmir and opens from there onto the story of Nâzım Hikmet’s entire life. “Romantika” also expresses the longing for a better, more truthful, and more just life.
Exhibition Venue: Atlas Pavilion, Kültürpark, Izmir
Exhibition Dates: 5 September 2026 – 15 January 2027