The artwork by artist Hayri Karay will be introduced to the world.

Artist Hayri Karay won the İGA ART Art Project Contest, introduced by iGA Istanbul Airport, the world's largest meeting point, to contribute to the fields of art and culture in our country, and where a diverse array of artists and designers can present their ideas using a variety of techniques.

İGA ART, iGA Istanbul Airport's gateway to the world of art, has brought together artists from all over the world at the İGA ART Art Project Contest. Artist Hayri Karay won the "iGA ART Art Project Contest", where one of the biggest awards ever given in the fields of arts and culture in Türkiye was presented.

The award was presented to Karay at a ceremony held at iGA Istanbul Airport.

A total of 172 projects from Türkiye and from around the world applied to the İGA ART Art Project Contest, organized for the second time this year and the first phase of which was held in January 2023. Following the announcement of the top 10 finalists, the second phase of the contest began on October 20, 2023. As a result of the jury's evaluation, in which the scale models of the 10 finalist projects were examined, Hayri Karay's work won the grand prize of 2 million Turkish Lira.

During his speech at the award ceremony, Selahattin Bilgen, Deputy CEO of iGA Istanbul Airport, said:

"We believe that it is extremely meaningful to bring our society and artists together at a common point at iGA Istanbul Airport, where we welcome more than two hundred thousand passengers every day. Artists represent the future of a nation, even the future of all humanity. İGA ART is an exemplary global platform in this regard, embracing artists from all walks of life, regardless of religion, language, race or age, and providing the 'free space' that art and artists need the most, enabling them to make their voices heard around the world. Thus, İGA Istanbul Airport deserves to be counted as the biggest public art space within the borders of our country. I wholeheartedly congratulate Hayri Karay, the winner of this year's İGA ART Art Project Contest. At iGA, we will continue to contribute to the promotion of our country, by bringing our passengers together with the healing and peaceful power of art."

Congratulating Hayri Karay, the winner of the grand prize, İGA ART Executive Board Member Prof. Gülveli Kaya said the following: “İGA ART brings together the values and artists of our country with the world, with the mission of being the cultural cradle of Anatolia. As Mevlânâ said, "Either appear as you are or be as you appear", İGA ART is an organization both as it is and as it appears to be. While it is possible to collaborate with world-famous artists in the international arena, it is very important to open the way for artists in our own country with our own resources. In this regard, we are delighted to meet here again with the unifying power of art," he said.

The winner of the grand prize, Artist Hayri Karay, expressed his emotions with the following statements: "I would like to thank İGA ART for their contribution to art. It is a great honor to have created this artwork on the 100th anniversary of our Republic. I'd like to dedicate my work to our Republic's 100th anniversary."

Artist Hayri Karay's artwork will be introduced to art lovers.

Artist Hayri Karay's semi-abstract work depicts the diversity and ethnography of the Anatolian culture through a visual dance using light and shadow techniques. The artwork emphasizes the harmony, balance, disparity, and movement of contrasting geometrical and organic shapes. The artwork is planned to be completed and ready to be viewed at iGA Istanbul Airport by the end of 2024.

The jury of the İGA ART Art Project Competition is comprised of Nazlı Pektaş, member of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA- Türkiye), Academic and painter Prof. Gülveli Kaya, Academic and curator Prof. Markus Graf, iGA Istanbul Airport Design Manager Esra Doğutepe, Board Member of the Design Foundation of Türkiye and esteemed artists Seçkin Pirim and Seyhun Topuz, who work in various fields of art from painting to sculpture, architecture to criticism, and curation to academics.

The winner of the first İGA ART Art Project Contest, held in 2022, was Betül Kotil's project, Saya's Voice. Kotil's work is exhibited at iGA Istanbul Airport and welcomes millions of visitors from different cultures.

About Hayri Karay:

Hayri Karay was born in 1952 in Balıkesir and completed his studies in sculpture from 1970-1975 at the State Academy of Fine Arts. He worked as an assistant professor at the same academy in addition to working as an instructor-lecturer at sculpture workshops between 1976-1984 and received his "Proficiency in Art" degree, which is a doctorate in higher education. Hayri Karay, author of the research book, "Geometry in Sculpture", has won awards at various competitions, including the 1973-74-75 Ahmet Andiçen Sculpture Competition, the 1974 Hadi Bara Sculpture Competition, the 1975-76 Istanbul Festival Archeology Museum Painting-Sculpture Competition, the 1976 Yarımca Art Festival Sculpture Competition, the 1977 Istanbul Art Festival "New Trends Exhibition", and the 1987 Contemporary Artists Sculpture Exhibition. Karay's artworks are exhibited at national and international art events and displayed in museums and private collections.