Istanbul Cinema Museum opened its doors to art lovers Friday at the Atlas Theatre building on the touristic Istiklal Street following two-years of restoration work.
This institution is projected to be a living venue with education and entertainment along with the ability to host events, such as its own opening ceremony attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Istiklal Street’s newly renovated building that holds the museum is in Istanbul’s Beyoğlu district on the city’s European side. Its restoration is part of a wider project aimed at turning the area into a cultural hub.
Friday night’s ceremony marked the opening of the first cinema museum in Turkey and it will shed light on the nation’s film industry, past and present. The venue will serve as one of the main places for gala and premier events, information and documents on world cinema and presentations of Turkish film masterpieces, in addition to exhibiting special collections.
During his opening ceremony speech, Erdoğan said that significant contributions have been made to the metropolis’ art life. Turkey’s number of venues where cultural and artistic activities are carried out increased to 4,139 from 858, while its number of the events approached 110,000 from 34,000, he detailed.
