Arkas Center For The Arts

The Arkas Art Center, located in Izmir, was previously used as the French consulate building. The structure was built in 1835. The venue, whose construction process took quite a long time, is located on Mecidiye Street. The building was severely damaged by an earthquake in 1852. Although the building was repaired, it was again damaged by the second earthquake and fire that followed. The French architect Pontremoli built a new building immediately upon this. The new building was ready for use in 1906. As a result of the Great Fire of Izmir in 1922, many buildings in the cordon region were significantly destroyed, and this place managed to survive. The restoration of the building is performed by R.Pere done the architectural work of the clock tower. The building continued to serve as consul general of France until 1983. After that period, it was designated as an Honorary Consulate-General. This 130-year-old private and historic building was leased by Arkas Holding in 2010. The Holding company has currently leased the building for two decades. A detailed restoration process was initiated under the leadership of an important architectural firm. Eventually, the beach-facing part of the historic building was transformed into a modern and infrastructure-intact Cultural Arts Center. The arduous restoration process lasted approximately eight months. Arkas Art Center, which opened to visitors in November 2011, hosts many exhibitions. The Arkas collection is followed with great interest by the visitors in the space, which soon succeeded in becoming one of the most special cultural centers not only in Izmir but also in all of Turkey, both in terms of content and spatiality. Currently, the Arkas Art Center has nine separate exhibition rooms and one workshop. The center contains many works by international painters.