Cumhuriyet.com.tr / Theater museums are coming together...

“Despite a rich theater cultural heritage, Turkey is a country without a theater museum!” These words belong to Esen Çamurdan, the founder of the Turkey Theater Foundation (TIV). In December 2019, the Turkey Theater Foundation (TIV) received its legal entity status, marking the foundation of the Theater Museum. This foundation, laid through Esen's personal efforts, stands strong with the support of young volunteers who are passionate about theater and have studied it. Certainly, the state needs to support such an organization in every sense, just as it does in countries that have embraced modernity. Yes, this topic has much more to explore, but today I want to talk about an important event initiated by TIV.

ESTABLISHING A CULTURAL NETWORK

On October 17, Thursday, the Turkey Theater Foundation (TIV) is organizing a symposium titled “Creating a Contemporary Theater Museum” at the Pera Museum, which will last all day. The aim is to pave the way for the establishment of the World Theater Museums Cultural Network and to take an important step in this context. This event, prepared with the support of the European Union Civil Thought Program, the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Culture Department, the Pera Museum, Enka Art, and Mey Diageo, is open to everyone. As for the guest speakers: apart from Bruckner Atelier, all are representatives of public/state museums.

Moderated by Prof. Dr. Kerem Karaboğa (Arkın Creative Arts and Design University, Kyrenia), the speakers participating in the sessions will be:

Kristina Trubinova (Bakhrushin Theater Museum, Moscow), Rudi Rusatti (Theater Museum, Vienna), Peter Teilman (Royal Theater Museum, Copenhagen), Elisabeth Ramm (Atelier Brückner, Stuttgart), Dorothea Volz (German Theater Museum, Munich), Malin Karlsson (Performing Arts Museum, Stockholm), Esen Çamurdan (Turkey Theater Foundation).

The talks will progress through topics such as document and memory issues, changing exhibition concepts, the use of technology in museums, and interactions with child visitors, concluding with Esen Çamurdan’s talk titled “Turkey’s Theater Cultural Heritage and the Turkey Theater Foundation.”