Arkas Art Urla presents a selection from the Arkas Collection, assembled through Lucien Arkas’s passion for art and collecting. A comprehensive collection encompassing a wide range of artistic and craft disciplines, the Arkas Collection includes works by artists from Türkiye and abroad, including paintings, sculptures, carpets, armor, and glass objects that shed light on different historical periods. In addition to being featured in numerous exhibitions at the Arkas Art Center, works from the Arkas Collection are periodically exhibited at prominent museums in Türkiye and abroad. Each work in the collection is preserved according to museum standards determined by its specific characteristics, with the aim of safeguarding it for future generations and sharing it with art enthusiasts. In pursuit of this goal, and driven by a passion to contribute to İzmir’s cultural and artistic life while making art accessible to wider audiences, Arkas Art Urla opened to visitors in September 2020, following the opening of the Arkas Art Center in 2011 and the Arkas Maritime History Center in 2012.

Designed by Artı3 Architecture, the building received an Honorable Mention at the Turgut Cansever International Architecture Awards for its simple yet striking architectural design, featuring natural stone cladding throughout. The interior design, created by The Big House, welcomes visitors on the ground floor with works by leading representatives of 19th- and 20th-century European painting and sculpture. The upper floor displays a collection of armor, helmets, and weapons from 16th- and 17th-century European dynasties which, beyond their functional purpose, are also works of art in their own right, alongside Renaissance tapestries and Anatolian carpets from the classical period. The exhibition tour concludes in the glass gallery, which presents a selection of marble replicas from temples of Antiquity and marble busts of Roman emperors.