The Belgian city of Liège has unveiled a new street art mural that pays tribute to Turkish musician and TV host Barış Manço. Known for merging traditional music with modern pop and pop-rock, Manço remains one of the best-selling Turkish artists.
Born in 1943 Manço started his music career already in high school. He formed several bands and started experimenting with mixing American twist songs with Turkish folk, setting the basis of what has become Anatolian rock. He then moved to Europe where he continued his studies and advanced his career.
After he completed his high school education in Türkiye, he moved to Europe in 1963, moving between Paris and Liège. Here too he formed several bands with local musicians and continued to record singles in English and French in addition to Turkish. In 1964, he enrolled at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Liège to continue his studies.
He toured Germany, Belgium, France and Türkiye until 1967 with his band Les Mistigris until he had a serious car accident. He continued to form bands, with Turkish and international people, and promote the convergence of Western and folk music until his sudden death of a heart attack in 1999. He passed away on 1 February, shortly before the release of the album celebrating his 40th year in music.
The mural has been unveiled in Liège on the occasion of celebrating 60 years of the Türkiye-Belgium Labour agreement. Situated at the intersection of Boulevard Sainte-Beuve and Rue des Hiercheuses in Burenville, the painting was done at the initiative of the Wallonia-Brussels region, with the support of Frédéric Daerden, the region’s Vice President and Minister of Budget, Public Service, Equal Opportunities and Education.
“I am very proud”, Manço’s sister, İnci Manço, said at the unveiling. “I see that Barış is still alive. He still continues to work. Children still sing his songs in schools.” İnci was happy to return to Belgium after 20 years specifically for unveiling of the mural, where she was met by members of the Turkish community in Belgium. “While Barış lived here, I came from time to time. His children were born in my hands. Half of my family is here”, she said.
“Liège is our city”, Manço’s wife, Lale, said. “This is very exciting. It is probably the first time something like this is being done for a Turkish artist. We are proud of Barış. Now he becomes immortal. Everyone who passes by will recognise and remember the Turkish artist Barış and his songs.”
The Manço family was one of the first Turkish families that arrived in Belgium in 1964, when the Turkish community in the country was just beginning to form. The mural now celebrates the “cultural bridge that he created not only between Türkiye and Belgium, but with the entire world”, his son Doğukan said.
