ISTANBUL MUSEUM PROJECT AND DARPHANE ACTIVITIES
Upon successful accomplishment of many large scale projects in a short span of time, the History Foundation decided to open a city museum and a centre of social history in Istanbul that would function as a completely new type of cultural centre. The aim was to establish a centre of attraction for the intellectual life of the city with continually changing exhibitions, scientific meetings and cultural activities, in addition to a library and archive. It would provide a platform for discussion and research on urban problems, serve as the memory of the NGOs, function as a centre of information and documentation specializing in the history of daily life, and as a cultural tourism centre allowing foreigners visiting the 'museum city of Istanbul' to get to know the city as a continuous and integrated whole.
With this aim in view, first a meeting in 1993 brought together museum directors, curators and architects from different countries. This was followed in 1995 by two meetings sponsored by the Rockefeller Foundation and attended by more than thirty specialists from the leading museums of the world.
During the search for a site for the Istanbul Museum, the Darphane (Mint) buildings emerged as the most attractive among a number of alternatives on account of their remarkable historical and architectural features. After the transfer in 1967 of a large section of the Mint to a new building, the whole complex, apart from two buildings, had been abandoned to ruin and decay. In March 1995 the buildings were allocated to the History Foundation for a period of 49 years - first to be utilized as the venue for the Habitat exhibitions and afterwards to be restored and converted into the Istanbul Museum.
Given the task of preparing two large-scale exhibitions on the occasion of the Habitat II Summit, the Foundation planned to prepare the buildings for the exhibitions and then to implement an extensive program of restoration work, requiring an investment of $ 40 million for the creation of a new cultural centre in Istanbul.
A year's work was required to render the buildings capable of housing the Habitat exhibitions. The basement floors of the building, which had long been filled with soil and debris and whose very existence had been long forgotten, were unearthed. The buildings and the existing machinery and equipment were placed under protection. A major portion of the roofs underwent temporary repairs. The walls mostly on the point of collapse were repaired and strengthened. The first steps required for the restoration of the buildings were also undertaken by drawing up the building plans and the restitution projects under the direction of an Advisory Board for Restoration Work.
The exhibitions of "Istanbul World City," "Housing and Settlement in Anatolia from Early Times to the Present Day" and "From the Mint to Istanbul Museum" were held there in June-October 1996 and May-October 1997 and were visited by some 75,000 people who also attended close to 200 cultural events.
At this stage, the Ministry of Culture started a series of actions to reclaim the old Mint buildings even though their allocation to the History Foundation was duly approved by the Ministry at every step. The Ministry first changed the members of the local Conservation Board, which then accused the Foundation of conducting restoration at the site without its prior permission. These acts of the Ministry met with a very sharp reaction from the public. At a meeting held on 30 October 1997 an Istanbul Museum Support Group was set up and nearly 12,000 signatures collected under a petition of solidarity with the Istanbul Museum Project. As a result of the hostile attitude and a series of long drawn court cases, the project of the Istanbul Museum has been postponed to indefinitely.
Despite all the obstacles, the old Mint buildings are being utilized as a cultural centre. They hosted the 5th International Istanbul Biennale, organized by the Istanbul Foundation of Culture and Arts, in 1997; housed two exhibitions and numerous cultural events, as part of the 75th anniversary celebrations in 1998; and the photographic exhibition of Henri Cartier-Bresson's "Europeans," organized in cooperation with Pamukbank, was held there in 1999.
The History Foundation is continuing with its work towards setting up the Istanbul Museum for the use of all citizens of Istanbul and Turkey, which will reflect new approaches and trends in museology.
VIRTUAL ISTANBUL MUSEUM
Although the Istanbul Museum is delayed for various reasons, the History Foundation, in addition to continuing its work on the Istanbul Museum, has begun a virtual museum project on the Internet. The Virtual Istanbul Museum, which was launched on September 15th, 2001 along with the foundation's 10th anniversary activities, aims to encompass present Istanbul as well as its past and to develop in time into becoming a broad space representing all aspects of Istanbul. Initially created as a subproject of the Local History Groups project sponsored by the Rockefeller Foundation, the virtual museum includes information on the Istanbul Museum project and model applications such as the virtual tour of Darphane Imperial Mint, virtual Istanbul Exhibition, Istanbul forums and news from Istanbul and from civil society.
On-line at www.istanbulmuzesi.org, the Virtual Istanbul Museum is planned to grow with the participation and support of all lovers of Istanbul. |
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