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Baksı, a Museum That Brings Migration Back to the Village

Some museums stand in the middle of a town, others on a hill overlooking a valley. Baksı Museum belongs to the second kind.

Radar TürkiyeRadar Türkiye6 Kasım 2026
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Baksı, a Museum That Brings Migration Back to the Village

Some museums stand in the middle of a town, others on a hill overlooking a valley. Baksı Museum belongs to the second kind. Rising in Bayraktar Village in Bayburt, this museum is described not merely as a building made of exhibition halls but as a village's effort to stand on its feet again. In this article you will read the story that runs from the museum's idea to its present way of working, together with information from official sources and the museum's own website, and suggestions for your visit.

A hill overlooking the valley

The Bayburt Governorship's page presents Baksı Museum as founded in the Eastern Black Sea region, on a hill overlooking the Çoruh Valley. The place's old name was Baksı, and its present name is Bayraktar Village. The governorship page says this remarkable museum offers contemporary art and traditional handicrafts side by side and intertwined under one roof. The record in the Eastern Black Sea Cultural Inventory shows that the museum belongs to the central district of Bayburt and gives its address as Bayraktar Village, Çayırlar locality. So to visit the museum you need to leave the town centre and head toward the village. Instead I can say this: the museum is reached by car, and it is wise to plan the trip as part of a half day. The valley-facing position is part of the museum's story too. Here the building and the landscape are not thought of separately.

From a personal dream to a foundation

The museum's story began in 2000 as the personal dream of Prof. Dr. Hüsamettin Koçan, an artist and academic born in Bayburt. According to the governorship page, the project is the result of Koçan's effort to carry the experience of a lifetime back to the land where he was born. To realise the idea, the Baksı Culture and Art Foundation was established in 2005. The source stresses that, with the contribution of many volunteers, above all artists, the museum turned over the years into a real social project. This phrase matters, because it takes Baksı out of being the story of one person or one building. It reads as a joint effort sustained in a village through the labour of artists and volunteers. Keeping this background in mind on your way to the museum makes the exhibitions and workshops more meaningful. Every section you see is the result of labour spread over years.

A difficult construction, two openings

Official sources write that the museum's main building was completed in 2010, at the end of a difficult adventure, without any financial aid from the state. A presentation was held at Istanbul Modern in June 2010, and the museum opened in July. In 2012 the museum's new exhibition hall, the Depo Museum, met art lovers. The record in the Eastern Black Sea Cultural Inventory describes the museum's building as an interesting example of modern architecture. According to the same record, the building holds the position of an icon of the region with its appearance in harmony with the geography. The exhibition halls, the depot museum, the workshops, the conference hall and the library are spread over a plot of about 40 decares. This spread turns a visit into a walk that does not fit into a single hall. Seeing the view change as you walk from building to building also shows the museum's relationship with the valley.

Migration and reverse migration

What separates Baksı from an ordinary art museum is the aim it sets itself. The governorship page says the museum, in a village of heavily emigrating Bayburt, is a search for a solution to the problems and consequences caused by migration abroad, vanishing traditions and forgotten values. The same page states that the museum carries out work that will start a reverse migration. This work establishes links among tradition, future and continuity, and aims to strengthen those links with elements of employment, expectation and morale. In other words, art here is treated not as an end in itself but as a means of making life in the village sustainable. This approach may change what you expect from the museum. Rather than only looking at the works, thinking about what the works and the production mean in this village enriches the visit.

Women's labour and production units

According to official sources, Baksı is a museum that does research in order to preserve traditional culture and pass it on to future generations. Building on this foundation, it puts especially women's employment projects into practice. The Eastern Black Sea Cultural Inventory says the museum brings the traditional and the contemporary together on the same ground and has a special identity that sets economic goals through the production units it has established. The point stressed here is this: tradition does not stay frozen in the museum as an object, it connects with production and income. According to the governorship page, the museum provides employment to the region through cultural tourism. So visiting a museum also means contributing indirectly to such a network of production and employment. It is best to learn from the museum's official channels how the workshops and production function. Whether these sections are open to visitors and under what conditions they can be toured may change.

A women's training centre reaching from village to town

The museum's work for women is not limited to the village. According to the museum's own website, the Baksı Hüsame Köklü Women's Training Centre is an initiative being established in the centre of Bayburt. The centre aims to offer women who have moved from the village to the town, and who need to redefine their social place and function, opportunities to join production, learn a profession and increase their economic strength. Women from the surrounding villages are also expected to benefit from a modern centre. The initiative began with a plot of land donated by Hüsame Köklü, who lived in Bayburt. According to the description on the site, the centre is being built on the bank of the Çoruh River, in a position with Bayburt Castle behind it. When the project is completed, workshops are planned in subjects such as ehram weaving, kilim and carpet weaving, woodblock printing, natural dyeing, design, sewing and computing. Training is also envisaged under the headings of art, general culture, traditional handicrafts, family and child care, and personal development. The aim is for the training to be carried out within the principles of slow production, recycling and environmental friendliness. The present state of the centre, and whether it is open to visitors, should be learned from the museum's official website.

Awards and workshops

Baksı's work does not end with exhibitions. According to the museum's website, the Baksı Culture and Art Foundation organises the Anatolia Awards. The first ceremony of these awards was held in 2020, and they are given in five main categories, namely literature, cinema, music, visual arts and architecture. The purpose of the awards is described as making the cultural richness of Anatolia visible, bringing the past and the present together, and honouring works that will inspire the future. The site states that the sixth awards were given under the theme Beyond the Shore. Another of the museum's activities, the Utopia Workshops, brings students and participants of different ages together with experienced artists. The workshops take place at Baksı Museum and aim to bring the region's distinctive culture together with contemporary art. According to the site's description, the workshops aim at an experience in which practical applications, full of material use and experimental approaches, come to the fore. These activities show that the museum is not a place visited once and left behind, but is designed as a centre where production continues throughout the year. You can follow the current programme and the conditions of participation on the museum's official website.

Children and the model village idea

The governorship page writes that the museum identifies especially gifted children in its region and contributes to their education through scholarships. These efforts are said to aim at development particularly in design, art and culture. The same source says Baksı Museum plans to redesign the village as a model village, preserving its traditional structure, in line with the recommendations of experts. The museum is stressed as a place that does not limit itself to being only a spectacle, that provides opportunities and education to people living in the region. The governorship page adds that the museum wants to turn living on those lands into a joy. These sentences summarise Baksı's intention. As a visitor, your task is to follow this intention with respect and to tour the village without disturbing its daily life.

Preparing for the visit

Before you go, check opening hours, entry conditions and current ticket information on the museum's official website or with the Bayburt Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism. Since the museum is reached by car, plan your return route and your timing with the other stops in central Bayburt in advance. Do not hurry through the exhibition halls, the depot museum and the other sections spread over a large plot. An unhurried pace lets you notice the building's relationship with the landscape. If you will take photographs, look for angles that show the relationship between the building and the valley. When walking around the village, respect the daily life of local people. The museum's current exhibition and events may change in every season, so following official announcements makes your visit more productive.

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