Turkish Holiday Town Datça Gets Outdoor Sculpture Museum

Datça, a coastal town on Turkey's southwestern tip, now has a sculpture garden, thanks to the local Knidos International Culture and Art Academy (UKKSA).

The academy hosts painters and sculptors from Turkey and abroad at art symposiums it holds annually. A total of 480 sculptures created during various editions of the symposium are now on display at the UKKSA Open-air Sculpture Museum, which opened with a cocktail reception on Sunday evening, the Doğan news agency reported.

Founded in 2010 by the local Culture and Art Society of Knidos, the academy and its annual symposium have hosted artists from over 50 countries to date. Seven painters and sculptors from Turkey, Russia and Bulgaria took part in the latest edition of the symposium, a 10-day gathering that took place in June.

UKKSA is located in the Yakaköy neighborhood of Datça, in a former school building restored by the academy.

(Cihan/Today's Zaman)