Ethics of an All-Inclusive Learning Center
Dolapdere is a historic neighborhood of past Constaninopolitan minorities, not unlike Pera or Tarlabasi. However, political changes have brought on demographic changes with them. The proclamation of the republic began the series of migrations of migrants out of Dolapdere, and the pogroms of the 50’s further contributed to minority exodus. As such, Dolapdere was replaced by Anatolian migrants just like many other neighborhoods in Istanbul – and thus became a gecekondu slum. However, with the growing city and national economy, many slums within the city and on its periphery underwent gentrification to become neighborhoods and districts we know today.
The first sightings of gentrification in the area starting from 2006 with the beginnings of the Tarlabasi 360 project. Interestingly, this has not yet occurred in Dolapdere – until the mid 2010’s when new developments rushed into Kurtulus Deresi Ave., an occurrence rather later than expected as Beyoglu and Taksim are cultural, institutional, and touristic clusters. These new developments include but are not limited to hotels, residences, hospitals, educational buildings, and a visa application center also include museums. However, Dolapdere and its neighboring Tarlabasi were (and to some extent still are) notoriously known for crime, which explains the hesitant handling of the area by developers late into the second millennial decade. Considering the timeframe, Dolapdere has seen the new kind of development for only a maximum of 9 years from the writing of this paper. Among the developments is the forefront of the Kurtulus Deresi axis: Arter.
Situated on the beginning of the series of developments inland into Beyoglu, Arter is a contemporary arts museum founded in 2010 by the Koc Foundation to later move to Dolapdere in 2019. While other developments are private and cater to a specific user and audience, this paper aims to investigate Arter and its role in the development rush into Dolapdere as gentrification from the perspective of its local inhabitants. Designed by Grimshaw Architects, a renowned British architecture firm, it is described by Schwerin et al. as a -pebble thrown in the neighborhood and to watch the waves change the place-.
Arter is not the only museum or gallery in the Dolapdere, however it is among the biggest institutional developments in the neighborhood. As a cultural program, it is expected that museums and galleries will relate and include a pluralistic background of visitors. With its shiny glass exterior and reflective pool at the entrance plaza, this paper examines the impact of Arter and assesses the effects considering the values and limitations the museum brings to the neighborhood.
Analysis
The relocation of Arter to Dolapdere marked a significant change in the relationship of Dolapdere with the rest of Istanbul. Once a neighborhood no one dared to enter, the new developments in Dolapdere brought in new users to the area; one prime example being the Visa Application Office. However, such functions are specific and exclusive; Arter on the other hand was among the first large-scale cultural institutions to come to Dolapdere that was open to the mass public. With six exhibition halls of contemporary art, the museum almost rivals the newly renovated Istanbul Modern at Galataport. Furthermore, the museum boasts a neighborhood museum pass for those living in its area, along with a library, a café, and a plaza for people to sit around a reflective pool. While all this may sound inclusive and well thought out, we need to question who really Arter serves. Arter as an institution may be open to all, but some observations of the visitors can tell the exact visitor profile. The entrance of the museum is often lined up with luxury vehicles, also pointed out by one interviewee as “müzenin önünde hep Mercedes’ler görüyoruz”. Another interviewee pointed out that those who arrive by shuttle are mostly tourists looking to visit a museum in a foreign city, or students – either looking to use the library facilities for their academic coursework, or to take selfies to boost their social status as a museumgoer while not understanding the exhibits. In reality, many that come into Arter are not from Dolapdere or Tarlabasi. The Bilbao Effect can be used to describe urban transformation following construction of key institutions in decaying cities (Cano). However, the Bilbao Effect has further implications than mere urban transformation; such that it invites more money and new users in. More often than not, the incoming new money will invite the new residents in once the said district is rebranded which causes rent inflation (Anania et al.). Forming a rent gap between the potential and actual value will mount pressure to gentrify that area, which usually occurs when outsiders rent in a low-income neighborhood (The Rent Gap). Dolapdere is one area that is beginning to suffer this stress not because new tenants are interested in the current housing stock, but because developers are looking to create new upper scale housing stock by demolishing the current supply associated with the working class. An interview with Kenan the shopkeeper highlights tenants in Dolapdere recently struggle with their rent – even small businesses. The income is not enough for a small business renting their shop to sustain themselves in the long term, mentioning the only reason Kenan and his family have stayed afloat during the pandemic and currency crisis was because they owned their convenience store. Yet to suggest Arter is the cause of the rent increases is merely based on correlation. Among the developments that arrived at Kurtulus Deresi Avenue are hotels, which began a touristification of Dolapdere that caused a demand for Airbnb’s in the area. This was corroborated by an interview with Cetin the mechanic that showed an entire apartment with flats converted to nightly rentals going for about 100$ a night. While Arter is not the direct cause of the financial troubles, it is an attractor for those who can replace the locals due to the proximity of touristic sites and increasing cultural institutions within Dolapdere.
On the contrary, the initial reception of Arter by the locals was positive, many saw Arter as an employment and cultural recreation opportunity. Both the shuttle driver Kemal and mechanic Cetin remarked a visit to Arter to be disappointed at not the fact that they did not understand the exhibition, but that even the paid tour guides could explain the exhibits. Perhaps Arter was relocated to Dolapdere with good intentions, it however fails to situate itself into the neighborhood with its content. Yet interest in Arter as a space does not falter; people that have the time to visit Arter do so on Thursdays with free admission mostly to appreciate the space on their time off. Families often bring their children to the reflective pool for them to enjoy, and many passersby can be seen sitting on the benches by the pool plaza. Unfortunately, many in Dolapdere as well as Istanbul at large can not enjoy Arter due to its high admission cost at 200 TL; Cetin the mechanic remarks “çoğu kişi ekmeğinin peşindeyken Arter’i düşünmüyorlar bile” highlighting the precarity of local residents. As such, Arter has a limited benefit to the residents of Dolapdere through what it offers, for it is not as accessible to Dolapdere as it is to visitors from other neighborhoods who can pay the admission fee.
Arter and Kurtulus Deresi, while it does not resemble the likeness of Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, where it is a project that uses art to create an “Art Disneyland for the wealthy”, nor a Centre Pompidou Jersey, where it uses public funds on a public-private partnership that risks local rent increases due to rebranding, could be argued as a mix of such projects. The government’s vision for the desirable land inhabited by undesirable people involves “cleaning the area” supposedly of crime. However, projects such as Piyalepasa Istanbul also show a desire to turn the Dolapdere – Piyalepasa axis into a commercial district are in line with the motivation for the district of Beyoglu to become a tourist district of Istanbul. This could be further argued with the increase of tourist-oriented businesses on Istiklal Avenue, the development of Talimhane as a hotel district (conveniently located above Dolapdere), the increase of chain retail stores and consumer businesses.
Conclusion
Art institutions are no doubt valuable spaces in the urban landscape. They provide insight to the cultures of the host city and country as well as other countries the works come from. Consequently, it is equally important to be sensitive to the manner in which the works are accessed and exhibited to allow an equal chance for visitors of all backgrounds to appreciate, learn from, and interact with the artworks. However well intentioned a museum may be, many times contemporary arts museums such as Arter end up as the private art collection hall of a wealthy family showing off without urban context. While the direct effects of Arter on Dolapdere as a gentrifying agent are minimal, as the context of the Kurtulus Deresi Avenue developments have a more direct effect on the surrounding property and land values (along with the national property market and inflationary currency crisis), it could be said that Arter’s gentrification is rather extractive without return.
Works Cited:
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