Destination Turkey - Travel & Management

Oya Eczacibasi, Chair of the Board at Turkey's first modern art museum Istanbul Modern, says, "With its exhibition halls, cafe, movie theater and library this is a living, dynamic museum that interacts with the public." It was needed, and now it has come about. With the participation of numerous institutions, artists, statesmen and collectors, Istanbul's and Turkey's first museum of modern art has opened. The Chair of Istanbul Modern's Board of Directors, Oya Eczacibasi, says that they aim to change the static approach to museology and to make the institution a living art center while doing all that is required from a museological point of view. Having concluded agreements with international culture and art organizations as well as world-famous museums, Istanbul Modern aims to project not only the rich historical legacy of Turkey and the Turkish people, but also their contemporary and modern aspect, both to the Turkish society and to an international public with its art lovers

The idea of founding Istanbul Modern goes back many years. Would you tell us about this arduous process?
In 1987 during the Istanbul Culture and Art Foundation's 1st International Istanbul Biennial, my father-in-law Nejat Eczacibasi mentioned that he wanted to found a museum of modern art. So the search for a place got underway. We settled on the old fez factory and undertook its restoration, but certain problems arose and we gave up on that site. But during this time the museum collection was expanded, and I studied museology in London. Two years ago when we held the 8th Biennial in the entrepôt we decided to try our luck again, and this time we succeeded. We have received tremendous support from the present government and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The deputy from Istanbul Egemen Bagis has also contributed greatly.

At the behest of Prime Minister Erdogan you held the opening on December 11th, that is, just before the December 17 EU summit Do you think the museum has helped in the EU process, or that this museum is proof that we are European? I wouldn't go so far as to say that the museum has helped with the negotiations. But it has an important role in the promotion of Istanbul. Several foreign newspapers, including the New York Times, gave the museum wide coverage, while positive messages came from Tony Blair, Jacques Chirac and Gerhard Schröder. For them it was important that a museum of modern art had opened in Istanbul. In terms of communication and cultural exchange... You're saying that not only the people of Istanbul were waiting for the museum to open. In developed countries much smaller and less important cities than Istanbul have modern art museums. Whereas contemporary and modern Turkish art is so rich. Of course we should be proud of the works we have created in the past, but this is not enough to make our culture known. We must introduce what is created today as well, both to our own society and the world, perpetuating it for future generations

In Turkey nobody says, "Let's meet at such-and-such a museum." But now I hear people saying, "Let's meet at Istanbul Modern, sit at its cafe, go to its movie theater." And in the process they visit the museum. I mean, this museum interacts with the public. A second difference-from the standpoint of private museology-is that it was not founded under the aegis of a single institution or family. Several institutions apart from Eczacibasi provided support. Our chief sponsors are Hedef Alliance and Avea, while Garanti Bank sponsors the educational and Fuji Film the photographic division. Collaboration among several institutions has made for real strength. When you compare us with museums in the West, though, we have some shortcomings. This museum covers eight thousand square meters, whereas the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris is almost one hundred thousand square meters. On the other hand, we have a marvelous location, right on the Bosphorus looking across to Topkapi Palace. Another difference is our view of modern museum management We're trying to overcome the static approach in favor of something dynamic. I feel that society needs to feel that museums are

spaces that belong to them. That's why we want to have an approach that appeals to people of all ages and walks of life, with a

What are you doing to give the museum an international presence and to develop your relations with museums abroad? I believe you have an agreement with Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank has the largest collection of any commercial organization in the world. Under our agreement, the Deutsche Bank exhibition about to go to Russia will come to our museum in January 2006. Thanks to contacts made by our chief curator Rosa Martinez, who is a Spaniard, we have made an agreement with Spain's La Caixa Foundation. This year Martinez will also curate the Venice Biennial. we have a marvelous location, right on the Bosphorus looking across to Topkapi Palace. Another difference is our view of modern museum management. We’re trying to overcome the static approach in favor of something dynamic. feel that society needs to feel that museums are spaces that belong to them. That's why we want to have an approach that appeals to people of all ages and walks of life, with a variety of activities aiming at a range of tastes and cultures.

The exhibition of New Acquisitions is a new concept in Turkish museology. Would you talk about this show and the museum’s coming program?

Up until now museums have always displayed what they already had. Istanbul Modern is also open to new acquisitions. This exhibition opened on January 15th and will run till March. The exhibition of new acquisitions is a new concept in museology, emphasizing a constantly developing, dynamic approach. On March 10th we have a Fikret Mualla exhibition, a retrospective with 300 works. This will be the largest Fikret Mualla exhibition ever. Then comes an architectural and design exhibition, and we are organizing an Architects' Conference to be attended by five thousand people from that profession. With an eye to the September Biennial we will hold an exhibition of Contemporary Turkish Art. Then in November there's an international exhibition curated by Rosa Martinez, followed by the exhibition based on our agreement with Deutsche Bank. So we're lined up until April 2006.

Would you say something about the works in the museum's possession?We have established a pool that excludes works belonging to individuals or institutions. We had to guarantee that any work exhibited here would absolutely not be sold later.

This is not the case for temporary exhibitions. This pool temporarily includes 20 masterpieces from the Museum of Painting and Sculpture, and 45 works from Türkiye Is Bank. The pool has some thousand works from the Nejat Eczacibasi Foundation, but because it is not possible for one foundation to donate works to another what we have done is to acquire 30-year rights of usage. As Oya and Bülent Eczacibasi we have donated part of our collection. And then there are the new acquisitions. The museum has slightly more than 100 works of its own, and this will be expanded in the future.

What's your favorite work in the entire museum?
I like them all. But two works that cleared the way for us are very important to me. In 1992 Fahrelnissa Zeid's daughter Sirin Devrim donated a work by her mother to us, ‘Hell.’ The opening of this museum looked problematical, but Devrim said, “I know it’s going to happen.” And in fact a while ago she phoned and said she was donating a second work, her for her wedding. This is not the case for temporary exhibitions. This pool temporarily includes 20 masterpieces from the Museum of Painting and Sculpture, and 45 works from Türkiye Is Bank. The pool has some thousand works from the Nejat Eczacibasi Foundation, but because it is not possible for one foundation to donate works to another what we have done is to acquire 30-year rights of usage. As Oya and Bülent Eczacibasi we have donated part of our collection. And then there are the new acquisitions. The museum has slightly more than 100 works of its own, and this will be expanded in the future.

In addition to 'interacting with the public,' you say this museum is a 'cultural and educational institution.' How are you going to bring this about?At the moment our educational division has an exhibition of Aliye Berger engravings. Young people and children are learning about Berger's involvemnet with engravings, indeed about a piece of history. From 10:00 to 3:00, children come every hour in buses from different parts of Istanbul. We've hosted three thousand children so far. First they visit the museum, then they listen to an educator and have a discussion after making the picture of a work they have chosen. In time we're going to increase the capacity even more. This place belongs to the people, it's a platform for communication, and above all it's dynamic. When a family comes here, there's something for every member.

One of them will be drawn to the library, another to the cinema, while still another will visit the exhibition of photography. They can have tea at the cafe, or do some shopping in the store. As for donations, we're of course very happy that collectors want to give us some of their works. Finally, maybe we could speak a little about your acitvities outside the museum... At the University of the Bosphorus I give a course in museum management. I have 45 students, and we use our museum as a laboratory. They give me a lot of support. In addition, I'm a member of the management and executive board of the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and the Arts.

That, you might say, is the triangle that makes up my life.