THE THEME
The theme delves into the historical role of seeds as cornerstones of life, culture, and social bonds. Hemp has played a unique role in human history, offering possibilities from food and textiles to healing and shelter, connecting communities and nurturing civilizations. It enabled human creativity by providing canvases, paper, ropes, and woven materials for expressing thoughts and emotions. Historically, hemp fabric from Italy’s Po Valley was crucial for Venice’s sail production and became the basis for high-quality canvases used by Renaissance artists. The project views the current re-emergence of hemp as a reawakening of humanity’s creative spirit, responding to the planet’s call for healing and ecological balance.
After decades of research and development proving hemp’s superiority across industries, we return to its most profound expression: artistic creation as a cultural movement traveling across Turkiye and world.
Through community-driven exhibitions with local artists, farmers, and makers, we’re planting seeds of change that will grow into a hemp renaissance across communities and beyond.
…or something like this:
The “Art on Hemp” exhibition is a collaborative project bringing together 36 prominent artists to create works on hemp canvases and with hemp materials. Its core vision is to explore how hemp, an ancient human heritage, is re-gaining significance in today’s world and to convey this meaning to a broader audience through art. The exhibition aims to reflect humanity’s desire for a harmonious life with nature and to inspire hope for future generations. It seeks to rekindle the ancient relationship between art and nature by utilizing natural materials and celebrating the plant’s historical and ecological importance.
The Lost Heritage
For over 10,000 years, hemp was art’s silent guardian. From ancient Chinese scrolls to Rembrandt’s immortal masterpieces, cannabis fibers carried humanity’s greatest creative expressions through time. The word “canvas” itself comes from “cannabis”—this isn’t a coincidence, it’s destiny.
A Century of Exile
The 20th century saw hemp vanish from galleries and studios, replaced by synthetic alternatives that neither artists nor the planet could sustain. We lost more than material—we lost a relationship with the living world that made art meaningful.
The Technical Truth
Hemp canvas isn’t just nostalgic—it’s superior:
- 500+ year archival life** vs cotton’s 100-200 years
- 8x stronger tensile strength** prevents warping and tearing
- Superior paint adhesion** from optimal cellulose content
- Natural UV resistance** protects artworks from light damage
- Zero pesticides required** for cultivation
- Carbon negative production** heals while it creates
- The Artist’s Renaissance
Hemp canvas isn’t just nostalgic—it’s superior:
Contemporary artists working with hemp materials report transformative experiences:
A deeper connection between creation and nature
Enhanced longevity, giving eternal meaning to their work
Sustainable practice aligning values with creation
Superior material performance enabling new techniques
Participation in cultural and environmental healing
Beyond the Canvas
Hemp’s return to art opens doorways to:
Hemp oil paints, with superior drying and color retention
Hemp fiber sculptures, showcasing biodegradable artistry
Hemp paper printmaking, reviving traditional techniques
Mixed media innovations, combining all parts of the plant
Community art projects, connecting rural and urban creativity
Artist Participation
Artists will be provided with hemp canvases or natural materials and have the freedom to choose materials and techniques. Production support, including materials (hemp canvas, hemp oil, handmade hemp papers, sawdust, or fibers) and technical assistance, will be provided. Submitted artworks will be selected for a group exhibition and offered for sale on the platform, with a transparent sales and revenue sharing process. Artists retain the copyright to their works.
The “Art on Hemp” project aims to facilitate a new dialogue with art within the triangle of soil, seed, and production, inviting artists to align with the voice of the soil, the memory of the material, and the rhythm of nature.
The “Art on Hemp” project extends a **direct invitation to artists** to embark on a **new surface quest with hemp**, aiming to reconnect art with nature and explore the plant’s ancient heritage in a modern context.
Here’s an improved elaboration on artist participation:
Provided Materials & Artistic Freedom
Artists participating in “Art on Hemp” will be provided with a range of hemp-based materials** for their creations.
These include:
Hemp thread canvases
Handmade hemp papers
Alternative natural materials such as hemp sawdust and fibers
Hemp oil for oil paints. Kendir Research (Kendir.co), one of the organizing bodies, possesses expertise in “Hemp Seed and Oil” solutions, indicating their knowledge in this area.
Natural pigments
These materials are sourced with the lowest possible ecological footprint and are delivered directly to the artists.
While providing these specific materials, artists are granted freedom to choose their materials and techniques. They are also encouraged to use other nature-based and sustainable materials in their work.
Production Support and Guidance
◦ The project offers comprehensive production support, encompassing both the aforementioned materials and technical assistance.
◦ This technical guidance includes **detailed recommendations for working with hemp canvases:
▪ For Oil Painting, suggestions cover layering with varying oil content, allowing 3-4 days drying time between layers, and utilizing the canvas’s durability for impasto techniques.
▪ For Acrylic Painting, advice includes thinning the first layer with water, ensuring complete drying (1-2 hours) between layers, using gel mediums for thick applications, and applying at least 4-5 layers.
▪ Mixed Media approaches are encouraged to highlight the natural texture, such as combining thin acrylic bases with oil paint, collage, textured mediums, and combined scratching/impasto techniques. Hemp is also deemed suitable for experimental approaches with natural pigments, ecological paints, and earth/mineral-based materials.
▪ Special techniques and tips address texture work (dry brush, thick impasto), transparent layers (glazing), and protection/varnishing.
◦ Artists are advised to be patient and allow sufficient drying time at each stage, as the natural character of the hemp canvas adds a unique dimension to the artwork.
◦ A detailed preparation process for the canvases is also provided, covering preliminary inspection, surface treatment (sanding), and a multi-layered gesso application.
Exhibition, Sales, and Copyright:
◦ Submitted artworks will undergo a **selection process for a group exhibition.
◦ The selected works will be exhibited in three cities: Istanbul (November 2025), Izmir (May 2026), and Balıkesir (July 2026).
◦ All artworks will be offered for sale on the project’s digital platform, ArtOnHemp.com, which will also digitally archive all project outputs for open access. The sales and revenue sharing process will be transparently managed.
◦ Crucially, artists retain the copyright to their works.
Project Vision and Themes for Artists:
◦ The project aims to facilitate a new dialogue with art within the triangle of soil, seed, and production. It serves as a call for creation that reconnects with soil, water, seeds, fibers, and roots**, believing that art can establish a new connection with nature where the material’s memory holds both past and future.
◦ Artists are invited to align with “the **voice of the soil, the memory of the material, and the rhythm of nature”.
◦ The core themes artists are encouraged to explore include: roots and surface contact, dissolving into the essence that is nature, regenerative production and the search for alternative materials, the summoning of ecological memory, and the cycle of rebirth. The re-emergence of hemp is seen as a reawakening of humanity’s creative spirit, responding to the planet’s call for healing and ecological balance.