Hafıza İzmir is conceptualized as a synthesis of the work carried out by the Izmir Development Agency for more than five years on urban culture. In this context, the publication was launched in 2019. Izmir Development Agency Culture Publications, Memory is the first step on the road to Izmir.
The cultural publications, which set out with the idea of establishing a connection between Izmir and foreign investors who have invested or intend to invest in Izmir through books, received a lot of positive feedback from the public in a short period of time. Taking this feedback into account, the publication policy was completely renewed. Izmir Development Agency Culture Publications, Since 2020, it has been publishing public cultural publications under three titles: “Izmir's Cultural Assets”, “Izmir's Cultural People” and “History of Izmir”.
Izmir Time Machine, This is the second step on the road to Memory Izmir. The product of the studies carried out with a focus on the feasibility of a time travel within the 8,500-year history of Izmir Izmir Time Machine Within the scope of the project, settlements that stand out in the history of the city were modeled in three dimensions. From Yeşilova Mound to the Ancient City of Ephesus, from Ödemiş-Birgi to Kordon Boyası, settlements that stood out in different historical periods and have traces today were depicted as they were in their heyday in the light of current scientific literature, while on the other hand, original content texts were produced about each settlement.
Culture Publications and Izmir Time Machine The work carried out within the scope of the project has been both exploratory and instructive in terms of getting to know and making sense of Izmir. In this way, the Agency's growing knowledge of the city's history and culture has brought the concepts of urban culture and urban identity to the agenda. This set of concepts, which are closely related to each other, paved the way for the establishment of a bridge between the Agency's current working practice and its work in the field of culture, and Hafıza İzmir was built on this foundation.
The knowledge of the past obtained from cultural studies reveals that Izmir has always existed as a port-city. This has been the case for more than five thousand years, especially since the foundation of the ancient city of Smyrna. However, the decisive role of the port in the city's history has never been stronger than in the last four hundred years, from the 17th century to the present day. When the effects and traces left by these developments that gave birth to modern Izmir are traced, the close relations between them and the current issues of today's Izmir have led the Agency to realize and discover how important the knowledge of the past is for understanding and analyzing the present. With this realization and discovery, a new context of urban identity has come to the agenda to systematize the work carried out in the field of urban culture and thus to build a new urban identity context that will feed the Agency's current working dynamics.
Memory Izmir proposes a new context for thinking about Izmir's urban identity. Based on a historical background that takes into account Izmir's 8,500-year history but focuses particularly on the developments in the 17th century and beyond that gave birth to modern Izmir, this context grasps Izmir's urban identity around three main axes. These axes, which we can also call the basic elements that make up Izmir's urban identity, are respectively Port, trade and creativity.
The port is the main element of Izmir's urban identity. The port has been instrumental in the development of trade, and trade has brought people of all nationalities together. This dynamic, which led to the emergence of a multicultural environment, also created the necessary atmosphere for creative thinking to flourish. This context, which Hafıza Izmir reveals in terms of urban identity, is analyzed in terms of all three axes. individuals, institutions and venues under the headings of the "The World".
As an agency, we have been conducting studies that we have carried out as standalone studies so far. Culture Publications and Izmir Time Machine next to City Identity Digital Archive We are opening the curtain of Hafıza Izmir by adding Hafıza Izmir. In the coming period, we aim to realize activities in all three channels in line with the context on which Hafıza Izmir is based. In this context;
Culture Publications In line with the Memory Izmir approach, we want to support the preparation of copyrighted works that will provide a better understanding of the basic elements of urban identity. We attach particular importance to the translation of foreign-language doctoral dissertations that serve this purpose.
Izmir Time Machine The agenda for the coming period will be to narrativize the content produced so far, and in this way, to tell the context of urban identity proposed by Hafıza İzmir through new generation technologies.
Positioned as the pedestal of Memory Izmir City Identity Digital Archive In the scope of the study, the city's urban identity was analyzed in terms of three main elements that constitute İzmir's urban identity. “trace” We want to collect, classify, digitize and make available to the public the archival material on people, institutions and places. In other words, in the spirit of “data mining” “memory mining” and uncover new research material for a better and deeper understanding of Izmir's urban identity. Thus, the results we will obtain here will both Culture Publications both Izmir Time Machine and, through the multiplier effect, will be reciprocated by every person and organization working on Izmir.
In addition to these three channels, we will be sharing with you participatory and innovative tools for developing content for Hafıza İzmir from 2025 onwards.
Our journey, which started with a book, like the flow created by a drop of water, is on its way to becoming a unique and pioneering project for Izmir's urban identity. May its path be long and its fruits fruitful.
