The second edition of Eklectic Manifest, organized by ARKHE in collaboration with the Nicosia Turkish Municipality (LTB) and the Vedat Kaner Foundation, will open on Friday, October 30, 2026, at 19:00 at Arabahmet Culture House in Nicosia. The inaugural event, titled "In the Footsteps of Ulus Baker: Ars Memorativa," centers on the life and intellectual heritage of the Cypriot philosopher and sociologist Ulus Baker.
The opening evening will feature two parallel events: a Biographical Fragments Exhibition and a Testimony Gathering moderated by Nazar Erişkin, during which Harper Orhon and Nilgün Orhon will share personal recollections of Baker's childhood and youth. An experimental film room created by Thomas Balkenhol, based on Baker's lectures at GİSAM, will also be presented as part of the exhibition.
The first gallery at Arabahmet Culture House will bring together original photographs from Baker's early years, excerpts from his writings on Cyprus, and contemporary images of the neighborhood where he grew up—creating a dialogue between archival documents, his own words, and the present-day spaces of his past.
The program runs from October 2026 to February 2027 and serves as a preparatory platform for the 2nd Biennale Nicosia scheduled for 2027. Workshops and seminars led by Dinç Erem Tapa, Onur Eroğlu, Esra Sarıgedik, Ardan Özmenoğlu, Ersen Ocak, and Thomas Balkenhol are planned for November and December.
In December, an expanded new edition of the poetry collection by Pembe Marmara—Baker's mother—originally published in 1986, will be presented under the editorship of Neşe Yaşın. The program will conclude with an open call for artists in December; selected works will be displayed in a closing exhibition in January 2027.
