After the restoration, renovation and reconstruction works carried out by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the 140-year-old Alsancak Tekel Factory was put into service as the İzmir Culture and Art Factory.
The opening ceremony was attended by Minister of Youth and Sports Mehmet Muharrem Kasapoğlu, Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, AK Party Deputy Chairman Hamza Dağ, Governor Yavuz Selim Köşger, AK Party İzmir deputies and candidates, and representatives from the culture and tourism sector.
Minister Kasapoğlu, who is also a candidate for AK Party deputy, said in his speech at the ceremony that a culture and art valley meets the public in İzmir.
Expressing that Turkey has written a transformation story in the last 21 years, Kasapoğlu stated that this transformation is the result of the vision led by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Minister Kasapoğlu noted that another pleasing work for İzmir and Turkey has come to life and said, “One of our government's greatest goals is to ensure that our people have access to every opportunity, and equal opportunities. It is a goal that we have achieved to a great extent to ensure that everyone, including women, men, young people, the elderly, and the disabled, have access to every opportunity. Especially in education, health and other fields. Life is very dynamic. In line with this dynamism, as managers, we need to be at the forefront of this process.” said.
Explaining that they are making efforts to ensure that citizens can access services fairly, Kasapoğlu said, “We look at culture, art and sports with the same vision.” he said.
“Culture and art will shape life”
Minister Ersoy also said that they transformed the Alsancak Tekel Factory, which has a history of nearly 140 years, into a culture and art complex for beautiful Izmir.
Expressing that as the Ministry, they continue to work both at home and abroad for the protection of historical and cultural assets, Ersoy said:
“We restore the works of our culture and bring them to light. With the on-site evaluation, the neat factory structures within the campus were preserved. We have preserved the original structure of the factory by repairing the destroyed parts in accordance with the original. In order for everyone to be a new meeting point, we have included all kinds of activities related to culture and art in a closed area of 20 thousand square meters. Archeology and Ethnography Museum, İzmir Painting and Sculpture Museum, Atatürk Specialized Library, Alsancak Public Library, Turkish World Music Specialization Library, art and education workshops, open-air cinema, exhibition areas and a wide landscape area, the culture and arts center of the city will guide the cultural and artistic life of the city. We are opening its doors to visitors.”
Minister Ersoy stated that they brought a new green area to İzmir with the landscaping works carried out in the open air area.
Izmir Culture and Art Factory
The Archeology and Ethnography Museum, located in the İzmir Culture and Art Factory, which has been turned into a new generation culture and arts center, will offer a new generation museum experience with its thematic exhibitions for those who want to explore the history of the city.
Archeology works will be exhibited on the ground and first floors of the 7 square meter two-storey building, which also bears the traces of the period when it was used as a factory, and ethnographic works will be exhibited on the second floor.
İzmir Painting and Sculpture Museum will also bring together a remarkable collection of artifacts dating from the Tanzimat Period to the present.