The programs accompanying the exhibition Anatolian Plant Legacy begin with a series of presentations and a conversation on International Botanical Art Day. Featuring Martyn Rix, Christabel Frances King, Gülnur Ekşi Bona, Hülya Korkmaz, and Işık Güner, the program explores the role of botanical illustration in preserving the genetic and cultural heritage of local plant species.
In the first session, Martyn Rix, former editor of Curtis’s Botanical Magazine, will address the impact of plants transported from Anatolia to Europe on botanical art and sociocultural practices. Christabel Frances King, one of the leading figures in scientific botanical illustration, will discuss how this practice contributes to knowledge about Türkiye’s flora, as well as her work in the field. In the second session, botanical illustrations Gülnur Ekşi Bona, Hülya Korkmaz, and Işık Güner will reflect on the evolution of botanical illustration in Türkiye, drawing on their personal experiences.
This free-admission program will take place on Sunday, May 18 at 13.30 in the Walk-in Cinema at Salt Beyoğlu. The program will be held in Turkish and English, with no simultaneous translation available. Click here for online participation via Zoom. No registration is required to attend in person at Salt Beyoğlu.
Anatolian Plant Legacy is part of the Botanical Art Worldwide 2025 program, organized by the American Society of Botanical Artists, and is realized by the Botanical Art Committee of the Flora Research Association.
PROGRAMME
13.30 Session 1 Martyn Rix, “The Importance of Anatolia as a Source of Cultivated Plants” Christabel Frances King, “Botanical Illustrations for the Flora of Turkey”
14.30 Break
14.45 Session 2 Gülnur Ekşi Bona and Hülya Korkmaz, “Türkiye’de Bitki Ressamlığı (2005-2025)” [Botanical Art in Türkiye (2005-2025)] Işık Güner, “Süsen Tarlası” [An Iris Field]
15.45 Q&A
Christabel Frances King studied Scientific Illustration at Middlesex Polytechnic (now Middlesex University). She taught at Capel Manor College from 1986 to 2012 and has led various courses in scientific botanical illustration across the UK, Brazil, Türkiye, the USA, Tanzania, and Japan. Since 1975, she has made illustrations for Curtis’s Botanical Magazine at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Martyn Rix studied botany at Trinity College Dublin and the University of Cambridge, specializing in Fritillaria in Anatolia and the Eastern Mediterranean. A visit to Hakkari in 1965 was the first of many trips across Türkiye, and he contributed both Fritillaria and Gagea to Flora of Turkey and the East Aegean Islands. He worked as a botanist at the Royal Horticultural Society’s Wisley Garden and was associated with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, for 21 years as editor of Curtis’s Botanical Magazine. He has written numerous books on wild plants and botanical illustration.
Gülnur Ekşi Bona graduated from the Department of Biology Education at Hacettepe University. From 2007 to 2015, she worked as a botanical illustrator for the Plants from the Woods and Forests of Chile project at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Between 2009 and 2015, she received five gold medals at international scientific botanical illustration exhibitions (RHS and BISCOT) in London and Edinburgh. She held exhibitions and taught courses in Chile, the UK, and Türkiye. She completed her PhD in Pharmaceutical Botany at Ankara University in 2018. She currently teaches at Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa and serves as art editor for the Illustrated Flora of Turkey project.
Hülya Korkmaz completed her undergraduate and graduate studies in graphic design at Süleyman Demirel University and Haliç University. She developed an interest in scientific botanical illustration through Christabel King’s workshops in 2004-2005. From 2007 to 2015, she worked as a botanical illustrator for the Plants from the Woods and Forests of Chile project at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Between 2009 and 2015, she received silver medals at international scientific botanical illustration exhibitions (RHS and BISCOT) in London and Edinburgh. Her technical illustrations have been published in various scientific journals, including the Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, Turkish Journal of Botany, Nordic Journal of Botany, and Phytologia Balcanica.
Işık Güner began working as a botanical illustrator after graduating from Marmara University’s Department of Environmental Engineering. Her work for the Plants from the Woods and Forests of Chile project at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh received international recognition. She later contributed to the publication Transylvania Florilegium, as well as to plant conservation projects such as The Beauty of Orchids and Plants of Nepal, focusing on endangered and medicinal species. These works are included in the Shirley Sherwood Collection in the UK and the Hunt Institute in the USA. Currently, she serves as an art editor for Illustrated Flora of Turkey and teaches at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.
