Memory of Kundura:
The World Within a Factory
Archive Exhibition
Curator: Seda Yıldız
Exhibition Design: Future Anectodes İstanbul
Beykoz Kundura
2021, Istanbul
The exhibition based on the archive of Kundura Hafıza [Memory of Kundura], proposes to consider the history of production in relation to the quotidian of the surrounding neighborhood at the Sümerbank Leather and Shoe [Kundura] Factory, one of the country’s most prominent industrial heritage sites.
Memory of Kundura: The World Within a Factory looks at the factory as a site of encounters where multi-layered connections were established and as a production space that was functional until 1999. The factory played a critical role in the sociocultural and economic development of the Beykoz district, considered as a “blue-collar neighborhood” until the 2000s; it also hosted a preschool, a cafeteria, a cinema, a community clinic, and a library, creating a living space. The factory inspired the exhibition as it was a vital part in the lives of three thousand laborers, white-collar workers, and their families—a site where quotidian life intertwined with production. The exhibition considers this state of “being connected” and the Beykoz Kundura as a living space through selected archival materials and oral history narratives.
Exhibition brochure available here
Kundura Hafıza [Memory of Kundura]:
Project Manager: S. Buse Yıldırım
Project Coordinator: Süreyya Topaloğlu
Project Coordinator: (2018-2020): Demet Yıldız
Exhibition and Graphic Design: Future Anecdotes İstanbul
Application: Barn Architects
Thanks to all the workers and their families who participated in the oral history interviews for Kundura Hafıza [Memory of Kundura]. Interviews available here