Int’l scholars discuss role of museums at santralistanbul

"Museums are meant to be a part of an intellectual dialogue, but they have become part of a political one," Dr. Levan Khetaguri of Georgia said at the conference, "Museums in Transition," which aimed to further the exchange of ideas on museums and how they function. The event gathered academics from Georgia, Hungary, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey at Bilgi’s santralistanbul campus. According to Khetaguri, the main problem facing museums in Georgia Ğ and those in many other places around the world Ğ is the distribution and efficient management of cultural funds.

He also noted that such places as "occupation museums," which were set up in many countries in the former Soviet bloc, should not present extremes, whether communism or nationalism. Dr. Lina G. Tahan from Lebanon countered that every "national" museum would always be perceived in political terms, giving the example of the National Museum in Beirut, where the content of the permanent exposition reflects the political situation in the country.

At that museum, Islamic culture has become a secondary topic, shaded by the presentation of Phoenician culture. Tahan also underscored the role of the Ottomans as lawmakers in the area that is now Lebanon. They established the first legal regulations forbidding the export of historical objects abroad, in this way preserving a number of relevant exhibits.

The conference’s main topic of "transition" was examined from many different perspectives, from the use of new technologies, including the Internet, to present historical artifacts and the modernization of existing displays to more efficient management of thematically related historical locations.

A week of museum events

As part of Museum Week, the Istanbul Modern and the city’s Pera Museum will open their doors free of charge tomorrow.

In a new exhibition titled "Masterpieces of World Ceramics from the Victoria and Albert Museum," the Pera Museum presents for the first time a unique selection from the globally renowned ceramics collection of one of the oldest and most outstanding art institutions in Great Britain.

Another recently opened exhibition at the museum, "The Logbook of the Ottoman Navy: Ships, Legends, Sailors," weaves together three distinct, yet integrated mythologies of the sea. Visitors to the Istanbul Modern can see the photographs of Annette Merrild, which the artist shot in nine large cities, in nine different countries, for her new exhibition, "The Room Project." With the show’s 118 photographs, she aims to highlight the differences and similarities between nations, geographies and cultures. The exhibit will be on view through Aug. 30.