Vocational School of Justice
SUMERBANK’S PATTERNS COME TO LIGHT
Patterns of Sümerbank, which left their mark in history, will be on display in virtual museum for interested parties. Izmir University of Economics, Faculty of Fine Arts and Design will archive thousands of patterns with “Establishing Digital Textile Design Archive and Virtual Museum” titled project supported by Izmir Development Agency (IZKA), and the past 50 years of Turkish textile and fashion history will be available on virtual environment.
There is also going to be an exhibition at the end of the project which is carried out by Prof. Dr. Ender Yazgan Bulgun, Dean of IUE Faculty of Fine Arts and Design, Prof. Elvan Özkavruk Adanır, Head of IUE Department of Fashion and Textile Design, Asst. Prof. Dilek Himam Er, Lecturer at IUE Department of Fashion and Textile Design, and Research Assistants Yıldız Berrak Sarı, Nur Ceren Kurt, and Zülal Sevinçler.
Sümerbank’s Patterns Will Rise from Its Ashes
Prof. Dr. Ender Yazgan Bulgun gave information about the project and she said that in 2006 they obtained the pattern catalogues of Izmir Halkapınar Basma Sanayii (Chintz Establishment) in order to use as an educational tool and restore them. Bulgun said, “We cleaned up and archived the obsolete fabrics and fabric catalogues of Sümerbank’s Izmir Halkapınar Facilities to be used as educational tool with a special permit from Izmir Special Provincial Directorate of Administration. Our main purpose here is to allow use of these fabrics in the light of academic and scientific preservation rules, and share them with researchers, designers, and respective institutions worldwide and in Turkey as part of a cultural capital, and raise awareness on knowledge generation and research on this issue, and create a value that will be owned by Turkish textile and fashion sector as well. We want to transmit cultural heritage of Sümerbank to future generations.”
Marks of Sümerbank as a Trendsetter…
Asst. Prof. Dilek Himam Er reported that Sümerbank, which set a model for the public in Turkish industrialization, led the daily life, material culture, and fashion with part of its manufactures. Following the privatization process, many factories have been closed and many of the fabrics and the machinery in those factories fell apart and became useless, said the Professor Er. She stated the following:
“We are working to preserve the textile patterns designed in Sümerbank’s Halkapınar Basma Sanayii Müessesesi between the years of 1956-2001, turn them into a digital museum, and establish a pattern archive allowing access to national and international platform with the support of Izmir Development Agency. Aegean Exporters' Association also supports many of the activities as part of the project. We are analyzing thousands of patterns and transferring them to digital environment in our study which will last one year, and in the end we will be opening an extensive exhibition. Therefore, we need support of those who has variety of Sümerbank products at their homes.”