The Ethnosports Culture Festival Photo Exhibition opened in Istanbul on Wednesday, offering a powerful visual chronicle of tradition, memory and living heritage shaped over seven years of cultural celebration.
Titled “Tradition and Memory,” the exhibition is hosted at the Atatürk Cultural Center (AKM) and brings together a carefully curated selection of images captured during the Ethnosports Culture Festivals held in Istanbul since 2016.
The opening ceremony drew prominent figures, including World Ethnosport Confederation President Bilal Erdoğan, Istanbul Deputy Governor Ünal Kılıçarslan, Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Istanbul Provincial Chairman Abdullah Özdemir, Esenler Mayor Mehmet Tevfik Göksu, Bağcılar Mayor Yasin Yıldız, Bahçelievler Mayor Hakan Bahadır, board members of the World Ethnosport Confederation and numerous invited guests.
The photographs on display were selected by an expert jury from thousands of submissions to the Ethnosports Photo Contests organized during the festivals, with Anadolu Agency (AA) serving as the global communications partner.
The exhibition features works by 53 photographers across four categories, capturing traditional sports, cultural rituals, human stories and the living spirit of ancestral games.
Among the highlighted works is a photograph by AA photojournalist Ağıt Erdi Ulukaya, who won the Atlı Sports and Equestrian Shows - Ethnosports Special Award at the 7th Ethnosports Photo Contest.
Speaking at the opening, Bilal Erdoğan underlined the deeper meaning behind the exhibition’s theme.
He said the Ethnosports Culture Festivals have brought together ancient traditions, games and sports from across Anatolia and the world under one roof seven times in Istanbul, transforming the event into one of the world’s most distinctive cultural and sporting gatherings.
“In the pace of modern life, many traditional sports risk fading into memory,” Erdoğan said. “Our aim is not to preserve them as nostalgia, but to carry them forward as living values. The Ethnosports Culture Festival reconnects us with our roots and with a civilization that places people at its center. The photo competitions go beyond capturing a moment; they serve as testimony. Every frame here is a note added to our collective memory and a high-quality archive left for the future.”
Erdoğan also thanked the photographers who documented traditions, games and human stories with sensitivity and depth, emphasizing that the exhibition reflects a shared cultural consciousness rather than isolated images.
The opening also carried a somber message. Addressing global events, Erdoğan condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza, stressing that not only civilians but journalists and photojournalists have been deliberately targeted.
“While we speak about memory here, we cannot ignore that elsewhere memory is being systematically erased,” he said. “In Gaza, journalists who see their cameras as instruments of truth have been killed for refusing to allow reality to be hidden. The past three years have been recorded as the deadliest period for press members in world history. We honor the journalists who lost their lives and reaffirm our solidarity with the people of Gaza and Palestine.”
Following the opening, Erdoğan announced that the 8th Ethnosports Culture Festival will be held at Atatürk Airport from May 21–24, describing the exhibition as both a reflection of the past seven years and a symbolic launch for the upcoming festival.
He noted that more than 250 photographers participated in this year’s competition, calling the festival a rare opportunity for visual storytellers due to its extraordinary cultural diversity, which includes traditional sports, games, crafts and performing arts from around the world.
“Anyone who visits this exhibition will understand the atmosphere and richness of Ethnosports,” Erdoğan said. “At the same time, it signals what awaits visitors at the eighth festival in May. Every year, participation grows, global recognition increases and our position as an authority in revitalizing traditional sports becomes stronger.”
Looking ahead, Erdoğan said the festival is increasingly becoming an international destination, not just for locals but for visitors from abroad. He also revealed early details of this year’s guest participants, including Japan’s Taiko drumming group and Georgian equestrian sports teams, alongside continued participation from Central Asia, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, with more announcements to follow.
The exhibition, which brings together 110 photographs, will remain open to the public at the AKM Multi-Purpose Hall until Jan. 14, inviting visitors to explore tradition not as a relic of the past, but as a living, breathing cultural legacy.
