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Discover the latest developments in private archives, institutional news, exhibitions, events, publications, and archival work.
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Exhibition: We Have Been in Tomorrow for 80 Years
We Have Been in Tomorrow for 80 Years exhibition addresses the eighty-year history of Garanti BBVA, founded in 1946, in conjunction with Turkey's economic, social, cultural, and technological transformation. Based on a comprehensive archival project initiated by Salt in April 2023, the exhibition brings together records, visual materials, objects, and oral history interviews. The contents of the Garanti BBVA Archive can also be explored through data visualization and interactive digital experiences. The exhibition at the Mastercard Exhibition Space can be visited at Salt Galata until September 30, 2026. Explore the Exhibition
Exhibitions
No Other Record Found: Reşad Ekrem Koçu and the Istanbul Encyclopedia Archive
No Other Record Found: Reşad Ekrem Koçu and the Istanbul Encyclopedia Archive makes the archival work conducted in collaboration with Salt and Kadir Has University visible in an exhibition format. The exhibition focuses on the notes, clippings, drawings, drafts, and published materials accumulated around Reşad Ekrem Koçu's Istanbul Encyclopedia. The work, carried out at Salt Galata from May 24 to October 29, 2023, opens up a re-reading of Istanbul's daily life, urban memory, and encyclopedic accumulation through archival materials. For ozelarsiv.com, this content is significant in demonstrating that private archives are not merely preserved collections of records but resources that transform into public knowledge through research and exhibition production. The related archival work is part of a broader cultural heritage project that makes visible unpublished items and visual materials alongside the printed volumes of the Istanbul Encyclopedia for researchers. Examine the source
Exhibitions
The Photographic Collection of a Daring Architect
The exhibition narrates the extraordinary figure of Arif Hikmet Koyunoğlu, a prominent character from the late Ottoman and early Republican periods, through photographs taken from the 1900s, particularly during the 1920s and 1930s. The photographs, which provide glimpses into the architect's personal and professional life, encompass a variety of scenes from his student years at the Sanâyi-i Nefîse Mektebi to his military service in Erzurum, family life, and his work at the Underground Photographic Studio, showcasing the landscapes, architectures, and people of cities such as Ankara, Istanbul, Bursa, Nevşehir, and Kırşehir. Coming from a prominent Ottoman family, Arif Hikmet Koyunoğlu completed his education intermittently in Istanbul at the Sanâyi-i Nefîse Mektebi. He was one of the young individuals raised in the high Ottoman culture who embraced the young republic emerging from wars. He became known as an architect who constructed the first monumental buildings of the new regime. His works, inspired by traditional Seljuk, Beylikler, and Ottoman architecture, also reflected the quest for national identity and modernization over time. The Turkish Hearth Building and the Ethnography Museum in Ankara became his most recognized structures. He was also a great adventurer. A talented artist, an audacious soldier, an energetic athlete, and a keen traveler, he practiced 31 different professions ranging from gallery owner to transporter throughout his 89 years of life. He became a loving family man. He loved to live, work, and have fun. He never shied away from any task; he was the architect and hero of modern times in every sense. With his ever-present camera, he captured the last days of the empire, the burning Balkans, lost provinces, and refugee camps. He documented occupied Istanbul, remote Anatolian villages in border regions, the cultural heritage of these lands, their faces, and their future forms. https://www.iae.org.tr/Sergi/Maceraperest-Bir-Mimarin-Fotografhanesi/213
Exhibitions
Special Exhibition from Antalya City Archive for April 23
The Antalya Metropolitan Municipality has opened the "April 23 Exhibition from the City Archive" prepared for the April 23 National Sovereignty and Children's Day. The exhibition features archival photographs reflecting the culture of celebration in Antalya from the early years of the Republic to the 1990s. The "April 23 Exhibition from the City Archive," prepared by the Antalya Metropolitan Municipality for the April 23 National Sovereignty and Children's Day, showcases how the joy of the holiday has been experienced in Antalya from the past to the present. The exhibition includes numerous photographs and records that narrate the reflections of the April 23 celebrations in the city from the early years of the Republic to the 1990s. Hosted at the Antalya City Research Center, the exhibition conveys to visitors the celebrations shaped by children's efforts, the social and economic conditions of the period, and the place of the holiday in the city's memory. The exhibition will welcome visitors for one week. I AM HAPPY TO DONATE HISTORICAL RECORDS AND PUBLICATIONS Researcher and poet Ramazan Ekin, who contributed to the exhibition with documents from his personal archive, stated that he has numerous historical records, books, and documents shedding light on the memory of the city related to Antalya. Ramazan Ekin said, "I am happy to bring these special documents together with the Antalya City Research Center in honor of the meaning and importance of April 23 National Sovereignty and Children's Day. I donated the book 'April 23 National Sovereignty and Children's Day Antalya' from 1988, the 'April 23 National Sovereignty and Children's Day 50th Anniversary booklet, a children's magazine on April 23, and two photographs related to the scouts of the period to the center." THE MEMORY OF APRIL 23 IN ANTALYA IS IN THIS EXHIBITION Ismail Oskay, Head of the Department of City History, Promotion, and Tourism, stated, "With our exhibition, we wanted to remind once again of this valuable heritage. Our visitors can see the conditions under which April 23 has been celebrated in Antalya since 1923, that the joy of the holiday has never been abandoned, the colorful images created by children through their own efforts, and the social-economic conditions of the period in this exhibition." https://www.antalya.bel.tr/tr/haber-detay/antalya-kent-arsivinden-23-nisana-ozel-sergi
Exhibitions
Touching the Past: What Do Cahide Tamer’s Photographs of the Istanbul Walls Tell Us?
The digital exhibition "Touching the Past: What Do Cahide Tamer's Photographs of the Istanbul Walls Tell Us?" prepared in collaboration with GABAM and the Suna Kıraç Library can be explored on the Koç University Digital Collections page. The Cahide Tamer Historical Structures Restoration Projects Collection includes various types of archival materials such as records, correspondence, photographs, drawings, and plans related to the restoration projects that Cahide Tamer (1915-2005), one of the first female architects and restorers of the Early Republican Period, participated in during her career from 1943 to 1974. Koç University Digital Collections: https://librarydigitalcollections.ku.edu.tr/dijital-sergiler/gabam-istanbul-surlari-sergisi/ Images (Left to right) Image 1: A view of the Land Walls from outside, n.d., CTA_S110_A02_phg_25, Cahide Tamer Historical Structures Restoration Projects Collection, Koç University Suna Kıraç Library Image 2: Silivri Gate, June 3, 2017, Gökhan Tan, GABAM, Istanbul Walls Project. Image 3: A view of the Land Walls from inside, 1967, CTA_S110_K01_phg_08, Cahide Tamer Historical Structures Restoration Projects Collection, Koç University Suna Kıraç Library Image 4: MT 19, April 8, 2017, Görkem Kızılkayak, GABAM, Istanbul Walls Project. Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/CdqHLokIpGn/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Exhibitions
Tennur Koyuncuoğlu Private Archive
On October 9, 2020, the Tennur Koyuncuoğlu Private Archive was donated to the Women’s Library and Information Center Foundation, and the digitization and cataloging efforts have been completed. On Thursday, May 12, 2022, at 18:00, a presentation meeting titled “Tennur Koyuncuoğlu Private Archive Digitization, Cataloging, and Open Access Project” will take place, featuring the participation of Sibel Servet Sular, Assistant Coordinator of Archives and Libraries at the Women’s Library and Information Center Foundation, and Canan Arın, Lawyer and Women’s Rights Activist. Note: An exhibition featuring records from the archive will be included in the event. Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/CdVnnuMI2ug/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Exhibitions
Traces of Transition from the World through Writing | Justice Ağaoğlu in Signatures
Boğaziçi University Library commemorates one of the powerful female authors of Turkish Literature, Justice Ağaoğlu, who passed away on July 14, 2020, at the age of 91, with an exhibition. The exhibition features a small collection of examples of personal notes from literary friends sent to Justice Ağaoğlu, as well as handwritten personal notes from the first pages of the books dedicated to her husband, Halim Ağaoğlu. The Justice Ağaoğlu archive and library, donated to Boğaziçi University Library in 2017, is accessible to researchers with special permission in the "Justice Ağaoğlu Research Room." The exhibition also includes examples of some photographs, awards, letters, and diary entries found in the author's archive and library. The exhibition "Traces of Transition from the World through Writing: Justice Ağaoğlu in Signatures" can be visited at the Boğaziçi University Library exhibition area from April 25 to July 31, 2022. Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/CcxAOGiqzL2/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link