Stone Mansion, the home of Kalyon Kültür, was built by Abdul Hamid II and passed on to Mehmet Raif Pasha, who would give the mansion its name in late 1889. His daughter, poet İhsan Raif (1877, Beirut – 1926, Paris), lived in this mansion from time to time. İhsan Raif is the first female poet to use syllabic verse. In addition to 19 works with her own lyrics and composition, İhsan Raif also has poems composed by others. She wrote and worked on the composition of “Kimseye Etmem Şikâyet (Never Complained to Anyone)” when she was only 13 years old. The poem was then composed in Nihavend mode with the interpretation of Sarkis Sucuyan, and became one of the most important pieces of Turkish Classical Music. As said by İhsan Raif, the Stone Mansion is a heaven for poetry, music and art.
After the death of İhsan Raif, the Mardin Family settled in the mansion in 1929. Public Relations specialist Betül Mardin lived in the mansion for a while, and her brother, music producer Arif Mardin, was born here. The mansion, which previously served as a community center, was used as the Şişli District Governorship until recently. The mansion was restored by the Şişli Governorate, and handed over to the Directorate General of Foundations in 2013. Kalyon Kültür rented the mansion in 2019.
Since 2020, the Stone Mansion has been serving as a new social get-together venue under Kalyon Kültür, nourished by the ties of today's cultural and artistic works to the past. Kalyon Kültür aims to revive and preserve the building's history as a place for conversations of culture and art with an event program consisting of a wide range of seminars and workshops in addition to its regular exhibition program.
Focusing on photography and contemporary art in the first 18 months following its establishment, Kalyon Kültür was renewed in October 2021 in line with the concepts of “Society, Design, Nature, Technology,” and continues its path with digital art exhibitions and a wide range of other events. Having held two international exhibitions and various functions, Kalyon Kültür has also hosted events for children. With an emphasis on partnering with renowned names in the fields of culture and arts, Kalyon Kültür participated in Contemporary Istanbul, which was visited by 40,000 people, while also carrying out joint projects with the 212 Photography Festival, which was visited by 22,000 people.
www.kalyonkultur.org
