Exhibition

Opened in June 2021, the exhibition Kundura’s Memory: A World Fit into a Factory proposes a different perspective on the production history of the Sümerbank Beykoz Deri ve Kundura Fabrikası (Beykoz Leather and Shoe Factory), one of the cornerstones of Türkiye’s industrialization history.

Visiting hours

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday

13:00–20:00

Open to visitors free of charge throughout the year and continually updated, the exhibition brings together machinery, photographs and documents left from the factory, many objects donated by former employees and their families, and oral history interviews conducted since 2015.

Housed in the Marangozhane (Carpentry Workshop) building, where wooden equipment was produced during the factory years, the exhibition looks at the factory not only as a production facility that operated until 1999 but as a space of encounter where multiple connections were formed, and aims to diversify knowledge of the period and to share local wisdom in order to generate future-oriented models and collaborations.

Kundura’s Memory: A World Fit into a Factory is less the “end product” of archival work than a starting point that proposes viewing the facility and the archive as a potential tool for producing alternative knowledge. Inspired by the emotional bond between the workers and the factory, the exhibition narrative focuses on the organic connection between Kundura’s production history and the social relations within the facility, rather than treating the two separately.

Visitor information

  • A separate form must be filled out for each visitor.
  • Unfortunately, visitors who arrive without an appointment cannot be admitted to the exhibition area.
  • Visitors with an appointment may only tour the exhibition; they are not permitted to enter Beykoz Kundura’s filming and event venues.
  • The exhibition space is accessible to wheelchair users.
  • Pets, with the exception of guide dogs, are not allowed in the exhibition.
  • Exhibition tours in sign language are organized for groups upon request.
  • You can send requests for commercial group visits (agency tours, etc.) by email to info@beykozkundura.com.
  • During group visits, only Beykoz Kundura’s guides specially trained for this exhibition

Kundura’s Memory: A World Fit into a Factory exhibition: for a general overview, you can browse its booklet in PDF format.

Beykoz Kundura is open to group visits by university students for educational purposes. For detailed information, please review the document below.

Beykoz Kundura | Exhibition Area