SANKO Holding, one of the leading companies of the Turkish industry, celebrates its 120th anniversary with the exhibition “Sahre”, which brings its past story together with art.
SANKO Holding, whose foundations were laid five generations ago, in 1904, with the weaving looms established by the great-grandfather Misafirzade Sani Efendi in Gaziantep, is 120 years old today. Adding value to the Turkish economy over the years, SANKO Holding stands out with its steady growth and contributions to society.
SANKO Holding Chairman Adil Sani Konukoğlu said, “I do not doubt that the generations after us will carry SANKO to much better places in the coming years. I have great confidence in young people in this sense.”
Konukoğlu said, “Our great-grandfather Sani Bey laid the foundations of weaving in Gaziantep in 1904, grew with the efforts of our grandfather Zekeriye, and turned into a world-class group of companies with the vision and work of our late father Sani Konukoğlu.” and continued his words as follows:
“Our production journey began in Gaziantep at the beginning of the last century. Our great-grandfather, the late Mr. Sani, started work with a weaving loom in 1904. Our grandfather laid the foundations of our group, but it was our grandmother Hatice Hanım who continued the business with a lot of effort. Our grandmother Hatice Hanım was the one who ran the looms of our grandfather, who was martyred in the Yemen War, in great difficulty and provided for her family.
While running the business, she also raises my grandfather Mr. Zekeriye. When my grandfather reached a certain age, he took over the business from my grandmother. Not many people know this story, but the foundations of today’s SANKO are the labour and hard work of a woman.
After his military service, my father Sani Bey continues his partnership with my grandfather and takes over the business. My grandfather retires and my father continues to work alone.
Then, after we grew up, we also joined my father. We preferred to work together, saying that teamwork makes the dream work.”
Konukoğlu stated that they are proud to celebrate the 120th anniversary of SANKO Holding and concluded his words as follows:
“As we celebrate our 120th anniversary, I am full of respect and gratitude to our esteemed family elders. On the other hand, while my brothers and I grow our business in line with the promises we made to our father, we always carry out social benefit-oriented activities to offer what we earn from these lands to these lands and our people. We continue the production journey started by our family elders by pioneering the sectors in every field we operate with our SANKO Family of 14,000 people today.
Each family has its own unique structures, values, and experiences. There is a great knowledge brought by those values and unity. I celebrate our 120th anniversary with the hope of strengthening this accumulation with new stories that produce value, and I would like to thank our artists and everyone who contributed to this meaningful exhibition with their works.”
SANKO HOLDING CROWNS ITS 120TH ANNIVERSARY WITH ART
In its 120th year, SANKO is hosting the exhibition titled Sahre, in which Hakan Yilmaz, Leyla Emadi, Jennifer İpekel, Nergiz Yesil, Fırat Engin, and, Murat Germen are invited to the exhibition curated by Ayça Okay, which celebrates the common values of the institution such as family, loyalty, collective work, sustainability by feeding on the spirit of the Sahre tradition and combines tradition with contemporary art.
Artists realized their art productions inspired by 120 years of memory with the inspiration they received from SANKO. Various materials and production processes related to SANKO’s fields of activity were interpreted by contemporary artists and transformed into artworks.
The word “Sahre”, which constitutes the theme of the exhibition, describes a tradition dating back to the past in Gaziantep and its region. With the philosophy of “6 days work, one day rest”, points to the times when the people of Gaziantep come together and spend time together, share their meals, share their troubles and seek solutions, celebrate good news and plan their common future. This tradition also explains the importance of solidarity and strengthening social ties.
The innovative approach of contemporary art, which deals with issues from a different perspective, exemplifies SANKO’s innovative and pioneering identity that has been open to innovations throughout its history.
EXHIBITION INCLUDES WORKS BY SIX CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS
Sahre brings together the productions in different sectors in which SANKO Holding is present in an experimental form that contemporary artists can interpret. In addition, the digital experience area titled “Loops of Time” by Hakan Yılmaz, which tells the audience the journey of this deep-rooted corporate history, tells the 120-year story of SANKO Holding by creating a link between conventional and digital art. Murat Germen, with his practice focusing on machinery and industrial aesthetics, interprets SANKO Holding’s dynamic, disciplined and professional production facilities through his lens and transforms it into a collective project with the workshop attended by SANKO Holding employees.
This visual narrative reveals how the holding has been able to stand firm and upright for many years on its journey from Anatolian lands to the global arena.
Leyla Emadi presents a work that glorifies family ties and intergenerational unity by using concrete and roots intertwined. The work reflects SANKO’s values of solidity, loyalty and durability, and reminds us of the holding’s legacy rooted in regional development and society.
Positioned in the centre of the courtyard, the work also points to the socio-economic contributions of SANKO, which focuses on social benefits. The ‘sharing’ theme of the courtyard stands out here as ‘memory sharing.
Fırat Engin carries the words “Rafık”, “Hasbihal”, “Elden Ele”, “Vuslat”, which refer to the SAHRE tradition with neon typographies. In his work, which uses the packaging films of Super Film, he aims to protect SANKO’s past and values and transfer them to future generations, while pointing to SANKO’s determination to protect cultural heritage.
Using recycled fabrics and traditional techniques such as batik, stitching, and patchwork, Jennifer İpekel revives the region’s legends, traditions and teachings in an abstract form. Her work is in line with SANKO’s energy investments and sustainability vision. This work, which reflects the balance between nature and man, conceptually describes the endeavor to leave a livable world to future generations. In addition, the work was realised with the cooperation of Aziz Akkaya, a quilt master in Kilis, by bringing a traditional form of production that is being forgotten back to the stage.
Nergiz Yeşil brings nature and sustainability together with her bio artworks. SANKO’s work, which is exhibited by transforming recycled fibres with kombucha mushrooms, both emphasizes the ecological cycle and adapts to the goal of providing social benefit. The development of the new species, which can be observed experimentally, can be monitored throughout the exhibition. This work concretely demonstrates the environmentally sensitive approach of SANKO, which continues to live and develop.
Hakan Yılmaz presents the history of SANKO in a digital experience space with the metaphors of loops and knots. This work represents the long journey where each loop symbolizes a period and each knot symbolizes a critical success. Yilmaz’s work conveys the holding’s steady growth and sustainability focus to the audience with a digital story.
In addition, in the mapping show prepared by Hakan Yılmaz specially for the opening, the story of SANKO’s 120-year journey came to life on the walls of the historical inn.
A NEW PROPOSITION BETWEEN INDUSTRY AND ART PRODUCTION
Baksı Museum Board Member Curator Ayça Okay gave the following remarks in her speech:
“We presented our exhibition titled “Sahre” to the audience to honour the 120-year glorious corporate journey of SANKO Holding. We prepared for the project in a period of 7 months. We have organized many expeditions and research trips to this ancient city, which is sincere with its values. I must say that this exhibition reflects the strong cooperation of SANKO, a well-established industrial enterprise, with six valuable contemporary artists. The space opened to creativity by SANKO, where the labour of thousands of people who have been creating resources for our country to have a better future for 120 years and doing this systematically every day without stopping and tiring, meets under one roof; It creates a new proposition between industry and art production.
The exhibition, featuring the works of Leyla Emadi, Fırat Engin, Murat Germen, Jennifer İpekel, Nergiz Yeşil and Hakan Yılmaz, goes beyond traditional production methods and ways of thinking, as SANKO Holding has adopted in its development adventure. Shaking the norms of creative thinking, artists with an unusual perspective bring their innovative ideas that transform existing systems and processes to the audience. The practices of the artists over the years, combined with technological production, have created original creative expressions that combine aesthetics and functionality. I would like to thank everyone who contributed.”
THE STORY OF TRANSFORMATION INTO A GLOBAL SUCCESS
The production journey began by great-grandfather Sani Bey in 1904 with hand looms continues today as a strong company extending from Anatolia to the world. Taking firm steps forward in its second century, SANKO celebrates its 120th anniversary with the production journey it has been continuing for five generations. Today, the Holding, which contributes to Türkiye’s economy and employment with its companies operating in 11 different sectors, continues to offer products and services worldwide with its 14 thousand employees.
Maintaining its leadership in many fields in Türkiye and in the global arena, especially in the textile sector, SANKO is among Turkey’s largest renewable energy, cement and packaging manufacturers. Leading the sector with its investments in technology in different industrial fields, the Holding carries out innovative projects in a wide range from textile to energy, from construction to packaging. Continuing to contribute to the national economy and society, SANKO aims to increase its investments with the same principle in the future.
PARTICIPANTS
Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality Deputy Mayor Hakan Aslansoy, SANKO University Rector Prof. Dr. Güner Dağlı, Gaziantep Provincial Police Chief Celal Özcan, Şehitkâmil Mayor Umut Yılmaz, Gaziantep Provincial Deputy Director of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Aykanat, Gaziantep Chamber of Industry Chairman Adnan Ünverdi, Southeastern Anatolia Exporters’ Associations Coordinator Chairman Ahmet Fikret Kileci, Gaziantep OIZ President Cengiz Şimşek, İslahiye Chamber of Commerce President Selahattin Türkmen, SANKO Holding Board Members Cengiz, Yiğitcan, Alperen Sani Konukoğlu, SANKO University Secretary General Dr. Yusuf Ziya Yıldırım, TOBB Gaziantep Women Entrepreneurs Board President Ayşen Ahi, TOBB Gaziantep Young Entrepreneurs Board President Abdulkadir Koçer, SANKO Holding Financial Coordinators Tekin Alpay and İhsan Akyol, Holding Accounting and Tax Applications Coordinator Arif Özefe, guests and art lovers attended opening of the exhibition held in the Pürsefa Han.
The exhibition can be visited until 9 December 2024.
