Many people have asked where is the Museum of Innocence in Istanbul? Many people have searched for the Museum of Innocence, the museum Orhan Pamuk speaks of in his novel of the same name. Such a great body of literature must have a home – a museum where that which is collected can be placed for the future collective memory of people.
In my search for the Museum, I found only one thing. A Facebook page for fans who love and are obsessed with the novel by Pamuk. The Museum of Innocence details the obsession, passion and other great questions of love. Orhan Pamuk is establishing a museum in Istanbul based on the novel to exhibit the objects mentioned in the book.
The Museum of Innocence was published in August 2008. Pamuk said in an interview with Der Spiegel that,
The famous quinze grater
“The Museum of Innocence ” chronicles the love story of Kemal, an upper-class person, a person who is occasionally described as high-society. He is 30 years old in 1975 and chronicles his infatuation with a distant relative, a twice removed cousin, Fusun, an 18 year-old shop girl, but very beautiful. As sort of a compensation for his failure to get her hand, he collects everything he can get that Fusun touches, and in the end he makes a museum of the objects that their story is associated with.
The latest news of the Museum of Innocence is that it is expected the Museum will open in the Spring 2011,which, of course is now. We will update when further news is available.
Ümit Yigit began a fan page in Facebook for the Museum of Innocence and is organizing a tour in Istanbul of the places Pamuk mentions in the story of the love of Kemal and Fusun. Visit his page in Facebook to find out more.
What’s on in Istanbul in July? As a matter of fact, the city is packed with art and cultural events, from architecture, film, music and literature happenings. Scanning the media, we found the following article on events in Istanbul in July. With all that is happening in Istanbul, you are not going to be bored. So much to do and so little time. Because, Istanbul is cool.
İstancool brings together icons from around the world. İstancool will open on Thursday with a private dinner in honor of architect Zaha Hadid at the Sakıp Sabancı Museum.
İstancool will open on Thursday with a private dinner in honor of architect Zaha Hadid at the Sakıp Sabancı Museum.
Istancool 2010
İstanbul has of late blossomed into a full-fledged European Capital of Culture with a multitude of international events on the city’s agenda. One such event, İstancool, is counting down the days until it gets under way next week.
A joint effort between the British cultural event organizers Liberatum and the İstanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture Agency, İstancool is a culturalcelebration that will feature a diverse and thought-provoking program over three days aimed at raising the profile of İstanbul as a “forward-thinking world city.”
Scheduled for July 2-4 in several venues around the city, İstancool promises an original festival of art, design, fashion, literature, film, music and ideas, its organizers say on the festival’s website, www.liberatum.org.uk/istancool.
One of the festival’s goals is “to complement İstanbul’s new position as the 2010 European Capital of Culture whilst creating a dynamic and independent brand that will contribute significantly to the city’s cultural calendar.
The festival will further strengthen UK/Turkish cultural relations and aim to promote a positive image of İstanbul in the international media,” the organizers say.
The festival will bring together some of the world’s most renowned cultural icons, among them Nobel laureate novelist V.S. Naipaul, Iranian architect Zaha Hadid, Oscar-nominated filmmakers Lee Daniels and Stephen Frears, American author Gore Vidal, Turkish contemporary artist Haluk Akakçe, Oscar-nominated English composer Michael Nyman, Turkish novelist Elif Şafak and internationally acclaimed Indian filmmaker-producer Shekhar Kapur among others.
The program will include exhibitions, performances, art installations, fashion shows, panel discussions, Q&A sessions, film screenings and master classes. Venues to host the festival include The Seed, the İstanbul Modern and the Pera Museum.
The festival will open on Thursday evening with a private dinner hosted by Güler Sabancı in honor of Zaha Hadid at the Sakıp Sabancı Museum. The museum’s ongoing show, “Legendary İstanbul,” will be open through the night for the special occasion. Events on the lineup of the festival’s first day, July 2, will take place at The Seed. The second day’s events will be held at the İstanbul Modern and the third day at the Pera Museum.
From: Today’s Zaman
Istanbul 2010 Museum of Innocence
This is the year that Istanbul expresses its cultural glory to all the world and opens its doors to everyone. Istanbul is one of three cities which are nominated this year as the European Capital of Culture in 2010.
Turkey’s greatest writer and Nobel peace prize winner, Orhan Pamuk published his book “The Museum of Innocence” in 2008. Alongside the novel, The Museum of Innocence was created as a cultural event and museum in the Çukurcuma district of Istanbul by Orhan Pamuk who bought the building and began collecting objects representative of a poetic and visual documentary featuring photographs, paintings, movies and objects from the daily cultural life of the city since the 1950s. He began the book in 1999, working on the establishment of the museum alongside the creation of his novel. Pamuk says that the Museum does not illustrate the book and the book does not explain the exhibit, but that it coexists with the novel as a separate cultural work. In the novel, the protagonist Kemal obsessively collects all that his love Füsun touches. Approximately 1000 objects form this exhibit.
The Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture Agency has supported the establishment of the Museum of Innocence which illustrates the cultural life of 20th century Istanbul. “The Museum of Innocence , a project I have been planning for 10 years, is being completed with the support of the İstanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture Agency. The work of collecting objects to reflect cultural life in İstanbul has mostly been completed. We are still working with artists on the design of the imaginary objects mentioned in my book. It would take 12 hours for a visitor to see all the objects in the museum in detail,” Pamuk noted.
Yilmaz Kurt, the Secretary General of the İstanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture Agency office supported the creation of the Museum of Innocence stating, We believe that this work of our internationally renowned author Orhan Pamuk will contribute greatly to the city of İstanbul and to the İstanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture.
For lovers of Pamuk’s novels and lovers of cultural and Istanbul, this is an exhibit not to be missed in Istanbul 2010.
Photography courtesy of the New York Times. A wonderful display of Photographs from the Istanbul 2010 Museum of Innocence collection can be seen at the New York Times website at www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/10/28/magazine/20091101-pamuk-slideshow_6.html.
