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Capital of Culture’s Cultural Center- fate uncertain
Sunday, 25. July 2010, 11:20
Istanbul’s longtime cultural center has now been closed for more than half of the city’s year as a European Capital of Culture, and its reopening remains mired in a legal dispute that shows no sign of ending.
The four-decade-old AKM building has hosted many significant opera and theater productions, but its large hall has been silent for two years.
Opera director Yekta Kara told daily Radikal that big productions cannot be put on due to the AKM’s closed halls and practice places, adding that those who decided to stop the renovations are responsible for the suffering of artists and art lovers.
The Culture Ministry and the agency signed a protocol Oct. 8, 2008, relating to the renovations of the AKM, but the debates over the site started well before that date.
The draft law establishing the culture agency, prepared in Oct. 2007, said the AKM would be demolished and rebuilt. But the Istanbul 1st Preservation Board’s ruling that the building was a cultural asset prevented its demolition. After that decision, an amendment was made to the law, saying the building would be renovated instead.
Architect Murat Tabanlıoğlu prepared a proposal for the AKM’s renovation and the project was approved by the Preservation Board on May 29, 2009. After that, the tender was opened and repair work begun.
Mehmet Gürkan, the agency’s deputy secretary-general, told journalists after Friday’s press conference that the total expenses of the renovation project up until the tender process had cost 3 million Turkish Liras.
The union, however, filed a compliant against the Culture and Tourism Ministry, demanding the cancellation of the Preservation Board’s decision because they objected to some changes made in the project, such as building a restaurant on top of the building. On July 27, 2009, a local court in Istanbul ruled to stop the renovation project.
“The renovation project does not protect the unique position, spatial, structural and stylistic characteristics of the AKM, which makes up its socio-cultural and historical identity,” the court said. As a result of this decision, the agency stopped all repair works and the project has been indefinitely delayed ever since.
Agency chairman Avdagiç said Friday that the agency wants the best for Istanbul and for the AKM, so it had decided to reach a consensus with the union and all parties interested in the issue. He said they revised the project based on agreement from all sides, including the union, and sent it to the Culture and Tourism Ministry.
“After the ministry approved the project, we sent it to the Preservation Board for approval. However, according to the law, the Preservation Board cannot make any decisions on a project when a court case is ongoing about it,” Avdagiç said, adding that the agency had been expecting the union to withdraw the case.
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