Bilkent University is bringing the works of Ara Güler, one of the most influential names in Turkish photography, to Ankara audiences through a special exhibition running from 19 November to 8 December 2025 at the İhsan and Ayser Doğramacı Science, Culture and Arts Center.
The exhibition “Ankara Photographs Selection,” featuring Güler’s rare and largely unseen images of the capital, offers a striking visual narrative of Ankara’s social fabric, urban life and the personal stories that shaped the city.
Hosted by Bilkent University in collaboration with the Ara Güler Museum and Galeri Siyah Beyaz, and organized by the Faculty of Fine Arts, Design and Architecture, the exhibition opened with a special reception on 18 November at the same venue. The selection reflects the city through Güler’s distinctive lens, revealing Ankara’s evolving character across different decades. Many of the photographs, drawn from the Ara Güler archives, are being displayed to the public for the first time.
The opening reception also featured a screening of the documentary “A Handful of Good People,” sharing its title with the 2023 exhibition by the Ara Güler Museum. The film highlights Güler’s relationships with prominent literary figures from Türkiye and around the world, further enriching the cultural dimension of the event.
Speaking at the reception, Prof. Dr. Yasemin Afacan, Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts, Design and Architecture, expressed the university’s enthusiasm for hosting the exhibition, noting that welcoming an Ara Güler collection to Bilkent is both inspiring and a source of pride.
The exhibition can be visited at the İhsan and Ayser Doğramacı Science, Culture and Arts Center between 19 November and 8 December 2025, daily from 10:00 to 17:00.
