The "Kültürpark is 90 Years Old" exhibition, prepared by Izmir Metropolitan Municipality on the occasion of the 90-year history and founding anniversary of Kültürpark, the apple of the city's eye, started to welcome its visitors. The exhibition, which opened simultaneously with the 95th Izmir International Fair, will remain open until December 31, 2026. Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Dr. attended the opening ceremony of the exhibition at Kültürpark Pakistan Pavilion. Cemil Tugay, Deputy Secretary General of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Prof. Dr. Pınar Okyay and municipal bureaucrats, artists, academics, students and many Izmir residents attended. The exhibition, organized by Ahmet Piriştina City Archive and Museum (APİKAM), is curated by Aybala Yentürk and its general coordinator is Dr. Serhan Kemal Saygı undertakes.
“DO NOT THE PEOPLE OF IZMIRI KNOW THE VALUE OF IZMIR?”
Making the opening speech of the exhibition, President Dr. Cemil Tugay said, "My friends who organized this exhibition and made these exhibitions come to life with their young energy are a source of pride for me. I think their love for Izmir and their devotion to every corner of Izmir is what Izmir needs most right now. Do the people of Izmir not know the value of Izmir? Izmir really has such a problem. We have an incredible history, culture and geography. Izmir is on one of the richest multicultural heritages not only of Turkey but also of the world." "It is a rising city that stands out with its incredible diversity, richness, tolerance and culture of living together. It is very valuable to be born, grow up, live in such a beautiful city, in such an extraordinary city, to accumulate memories here and to provide service to this city," he said.
“IT IS UNREALISTIC TO EXPECT THE FAIR TO STAY THE SAME WHEN EVERYTHING IS CHANGING IN THE WORLD”
Criticizing the attempts to create a perception about Kültürpark by constantly showing the past as an example, Mayor Tugay said, "We are together to commemorate the 90th anniversary of this park through this exhibition. 90 years ago, everything was very different in Turkey, Izmir and the world. It is inevitable that things will be different after 90 years. But what I find very valuable is this: Kültürpark is not just a green area. The people who founded this place 90 years ago also had an idea. Their thought was this: Development of the city." "We have known this area as a fair for years. Today, the fair has become synonymous with Kültürpark. But we have a problem: there is as much difference between the understanding of fair organizing of 30-40 years ago as the distance between two planets. Therefore, it is a very normal and pleasant thing to preserve some things as beautiful in our memories. But while everything is changing in the world, it is absolutely unrealistic to imagine that Kültürpark, the fair and İzmir will remain unchanged." he said.
“EVERYTHING IS GETTING WELL IN KÜLTÜRPARK AND IT WILL GET BETTER”
Inside Kültürpark, Mehmet Tüzüm Kızılcan Art Gallery, Prof. Dr. Giving examples of areas such as İlber Ortaylı Library and Hasan Ali Yücel Library, which were born from the ashes and made available to the people of Izmir, Mayor Tugay said, "At this point, we need to look at whether we are making things better or worse. When you look at Kültürpark, if you see that things are getting better here compared to two and a half years ago, this is a good thing. It means that we will work to make it better. Since I am very sure of myself and our friends, I know that everything is getting better in Kültürpark." "It's going and it's going to get better," he said.
“WE WILL CONTINUE WORKING FOR KULTURPARK”
Mayor Tugay said that they will try to remove all obstacles to cultural, artistic and sports activities by preserving the natural, green texture of the area in the future. Mayor Tugay continued as follows: "The halls will be removed from Kültürpark. I hope it will be my chance to remove the halls from Kültürpark during my term of office. Instead, we will put facilities that are much greener, perhaps for art or sports purposes, that will benefit all Izmir residents. I would like to thank the people who have worked for 90 years, from Dr. Behçet Uz to today, to make this area live, to make it an area that the whole of Izmir loves and uses. I say especially to the employees, because those who talk have no contribution. But the employees "They have labor in every square inch of it. We will continue to work for a much more beautiful Kültürpark. We expect everyone's support."
YENTÜRK: GENERATIONS HAVE BEEN CHANGING FOR 90 YEARS, KULTURPARK MAINTAINS ITS PLACE IN THE MEMORY OF IZMIRIANS
Providing information about the history of Kültürpark from the Izmir fire in 1922 to the present day, exhibition curator Aybala Yentürk said, "We are celebrating the 90th anniversary of Kültürpark, one of the living heritages of the Republic. Nothing in Kültürpark was built by chance. They are all the work of a common thought and idea and are implemented by following the plan created by Suat Yurtkoru. Preparing an exhibition on Kültürpark literally means telling something about the recent history of Izmir. Because "The establishment of Kültürpark is actually much more for Izmir. Kültürpark is a monument of the War of Independence, it is an extension of the principle of populism, one of the principles of Mustafa Kemal Pasha. Generations have been changing for 90 years, the life style of the fair and the city has changed, but Kültürpark maintains its place in the common memory of the people of Izmir."
90 YEARS OF MEMORY
After the opening speeches, President Tugay and the participants toured the exhibition. The exhibition included the story of Kültürpark from its establishment to the present day. In the exhibition, which is supported by archival documents, period photographs, printed materials and different audio-visual applications, a special place is allocated to the architectural heritage of Kültürpark. Scale models of the buildings, which have been remodeled in three dimensions in the digital environment, based on period photographs, original plans and application drawings, make the architecture of Kültürpark, which has not survived to the present day or has changed over time, visible again. Kültürpark, where generations of Izmir residents have met, had fun, learned, done sports and shared their daily lives since the day it was founded, continues to exist as one of the strongest places of Izmir's collective memory, as well as being the large green area in the center of the city.
WILL BE OPEN UNTIL 31 DECEMBER
The "Kültürpark is 90 Years Old" exhibition, which will be open until December 31, aims to bring together with visitors its decisive role in the transformation of İzmir, the traces it left in city life, and its continuity from past to present, while reconsidering the birth story and founding philosophy of Kültürpark.
