Memory Carried in Glass: A Hand-Blown Glass Exhibition at TAV Antalya Airport

From 9 to 21 November 2026, travellers arriving at TAV Antalya Airport are met by an unexpected sight beside the baggage carousels: twenty-one hand-blown glass works from Lonca Studio’s Cultural Heritage collection. Titled Memory Carried in Glass, the exhibition is on view in the domestic arrivals baggage claim area of Antalya Airport during COP31.

As delegates and visitors from around the world arrive for the UN Climate Change Conference (COP31), the first thing many of them see in the city is glass shaped by hand, a few kilometres from where it was made.

Ancient vessels, a contemporary language of glass

The exhibition begins in the museums of Antalya. The Antalya Museum and the Museum of Lycian Civilizations in Demre hold some of the finest ancient glass of the Mediterranean: small vessels once made to hold water, oil, perfume and, as an old belief has it, tears.

Our Cultural Heritage collection returns to these forms. The silhouettes remain, the earth tones give way to the colours of metal oxides, and every piece is free-blown without moulds by glass artist Mert Üngör in our studio in Belek, less than half an hour from the terminal.

Twenty-one hand-blown works at Antalya Airport

Four sculptural works anchor the display: the Amorph Frosted Pithos Vessel, a monumental pithos silhouette sandblasted to a velvety matte; a vase from the Stratum series, in which clear crystal and a coloured base are joined while hot using the incalmo technique; and the Lumpy and Sturdy Amber Bloom Edition pieces, with bold amber stripes on clear bodies and deep red lips.

Around them stand seventeen tear bottles in three forms, Lumpy, Sturdy and Curvy. Lit from below on a long table of light, their recurring silhouettes gather individual objects into a shared field of memory, in front of an illuminated backdrop that carries the exhibition text.

Heritage as living knowledge

Exhibiting during COP31 is a chance to show that heritage is more than something to preserve. It is a practice carried forward through making and reinterpretation: objects made to last for generations, in a fully recyclable material, by hands that pass knowledge on.

Glass has been blown along this coast for two thousand years. Placing it at the entrance to the city, where people arrive with their own memories and luggage, felt like the right way to tell that story.

See the collection, visit the studio

Memory Carried in Glass is on view at TAV Antalya Airport until 21 November 2026. The three tear bottle forms are available together as the Cultural Heritage Tear Bottle Set, and the full collection can be explored on the Cultural Heritage page and in our shop. Pieces on view at the airport ship after 22 November.

Our studio in Belek is open on working days: come by to watch glass being made, or get in touch for group visits. At the studio you can also see Akdeniz, our joint exhibition with Croatian artist Nikolina Šimunović, until 21 November. Flight and terminal information is on the Antalya Airport website.

About Lonca Studio

Lonca Studio is a glassblowing studio in Belek, Antalya, co-founded by glass artist Mert Üngör and architect Emre Üngör. Every piece is shaped by hand at our own furnace, without moulds, so no two objects are exactly alike. Alongside sculptural series such as Stratum, Flow and the Cultural Heritage collection, we make glass for everyday use, from jugs and drinking glasses to vases and bottles, as well as lighting and interior pieces made to order.

Our name comes from lonca, the Turkish word for a guild, and it describes how we work: knowledge passed from hand to hand in a shared workshop. The studio is open to visitors on working days, so you can watch glass being blown at the furnace and see the pieces up close. Explore the collections in our shop, or write to us about a commission.

We thank TAV Antalya Airport for hosting the exhibition and the Governorship of Antalya for its support. Photos: Lonca Studio.