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The Black Sea Region has two distinctive geographic traits.
At one side you can see the endless blue sea, and at the other dark mountains
covered by fog...
Mountains are such an important aspect of life that,
locals either build their houses in between or at the top of them.
This is a village called Bayraktar, located in the Bayburt province.
Bayraktar, built between mountains split by the Çoruh River,
is a typical Black Sea Region village.
Fog and rain surround the village for almost the entire year.
Due to weather conditions,
villagers spend almost 7 months in a year doing nothing.
In recent years however, the ill fate of this village is changing
with the work of people dedicated to making a difference.
Hüsamettin Koçan is an artist and an academician.
He never forgot his hometown
and struggled to enhance the living conditions of his fellow villagers.
Hüsamettin Koçan was born in the Village of Bayraktar,
which was previously called Baksı.
Just like any other idealist person, his ambitions were to
take what he learned and experienced back to his village
in order to make it a better place to live.
10 years ago, Hüsamettin Koçan decided to follow his dream.
During long years of struggle and dedication,
he slowly built his dream and finally brought it to life
by establishing the Baksı Art Museum in 2010.
In this folk art practice, documentation
and research museum here are many departments and facilities available.
From conference halls to textile ateliers,
from libraries to exhibitions
highlighting Bayburt's traditional architecture, Baksı Museum has it all.
Baksı Museum provides a venue for artists to showcase their work,
while also constituting a space where villagers
can benefit from educational services.
- We never use to come to this part of the village before the museum was founded.
Now we come here everyday.
Our village is a much happier place with this museum.
We love the library of our museum.
We also love the ants and the conference hall.
We thank Hüsamettin Koçan very much for building this museum.
We play with our friends in the playground and have a lot of fun!
- Our perception of the village changed.
We understood the importance of our traditions and customs.
We understood the importance of building a collective better future
for all of humanity, rather than caring only for ourselves.
We also realized the need to think and act collectively
as a group in order to leave a positive legacy behind.
Our village is located in a remote region of Bayburt.
While Bayburt lackedany attention previously,
it now receives much visibility
from local and national media.
We now enjoy improved services in our village.
Although it is located in a remote region,
our village now has roads,
a new water infrastructure and sewage system.
After the establishment of the Baksı Museum,
the Village of Bayraktar experienced a noticeable change.
Villagers no longer consider
migrating to larger cities.
They actually enjoy living in the village,
rather than considering it a burden.
They spend their leisure hours at the Baksı Museum,
where everyday life and art converge.
Hüsamettin Koçan was not satisfied by solely working as a teacher and an artist.
He wanted to give back to the land that raised him.
He founded the Baksı Museum that helped the local community thrive
and build a better collective future.
He made a difference that will
last for generations to come.