Meltem Yaşdağ successfully applied for a research grant research project exploring migration and shared heritage, and how common histories are told in museums in different countries. Meltem is a culture and tourism expert working in the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Museums in Turkey (ITP fellow 2011).
Her project is entitled A Suitcase of Museum: research on the effectiveness of Aigaleo Asia Minor Culture Museum in Athens and İzmir Immigration and Exchange Memorial House in expressing the 1923 Turkish-Greek Population Exchange to the public.
“My project is about how the common history is told through museums in Greece and Turkey.
İzmir Migration and Exchange Memory House on the Turkish side and the Egaleo Museum of Asia Minor Culture on the Greek side; I will evaluate them in terms of how they were established and financed, their artefacts, exhibition methods, events, visitor profile and their contribution to the cultural heritage of their country.”
Meltem also produced a short film to capture her experiences in Turkey and Greece during this research project. The film consists of a montage of photos and short clips from the museums and heritage sites Meltem visited in Athens and Izmir.
