Ara Güler archive comes to life with 'Path Leading To Sea' exhibit
A photo from the Ara Güler exhibition, "Path Leading To Sea." (Photo courtesy of Doğuş Grubu)


A new exhibition of Ara Güler's works titled "Path Leading To Sea" has been brought to life in collaboration with the Doğuş Group at the Ara Güler Museum located in Istanbul's Galataport.

The exhibition is being put on at the museum that was established with the aim of conveying the Turkish photographer's versatile artistic identity and inspiring life to future generations. It carries traces of Istanbul's historic districts, namely Tophane, Karaköy, Galata, Galata Mevlevihanesi, Galata Tower, the Tunnel, Istiklal, Galatasaray and Taksim, which are all located on the axis of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism's Beyoğlu Culture Route Project.

A photo from the Ara Güler exhibition, "Path Leading To Sea." (Photo courtesy of Doğuş Grubu)
A photo from the Ara Güler exhibition, "Path Leading To Sea." (Photo courtesy of Doğuş Grubu)

Prepared specifically for the Culture Route Project, "Path Leading to Sea" is one of the biggest projects realized by Doğuş Group and the museum in the cultural field and pays tribute to memories of Istanbul.

The exhibition, which will remain open to visitors until Dec. 31, features 41 works of art, including previously unpublished photographs of the region.

Also featuring at the exhibition is a 17-minute documentary "Kahramanın Sonu," (The End of the Hero) written and produced in the early 1970s by Güler, who was known as the "eye of Istanbul," on the scrapping of the battlecruiser TCG Yavuz.

A photo from the Ara Güler exhibition, "Path Leading To Sea." (Photo courtesy of Doğuş Grubu)

Doğuş Group art consultant Çağla Saraç emphasized their support for the Beyoğlu Culture Route Project, which will be realized under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

"As Doğuş Group, it is of great importance for us to support and develop different branches of culture and art," Saraç said.

A photo from the Ara Güler exhibition, "Path Leading To Sea." (Photo courtesy of Doğuş Grubu)

"We always take care to produce sustainable projects in the field of culture and art. With this philosophy, we launched the Ara Güler Archive and Research Center, and the Ara Güler Museum in 2016.

"We are happy that we were able to complete these projects while master Ara Güler has been in good health, and with his contribution and support," Saraç stated.

"Thanks to these two valuable art institutions, we ensure that the Ara Güler archive, which is a very valuable resource, is preserved as a whole and passed on to future generations, as well as supporting the art of photography through this archive."

"There are also Ara Güler photographs in our exhibition that have not seen the light of day before."

"As Ara Güler Archive and Research Center, one of Turkey's most important photographic archives, our biggest goal is to bring the works of the great master together with future generations."