İzmir State Theater in urban memory

This thesis targets a research on The State Theater of Izmir between the years 2000-2019 within the context of urban memory. In the thesis, the documents and the information are gathered via the methods of document analysis and oral history. Urban memory is a structure of collective memory that exists on a spatial platform and that can be observed as a sociological case. Corporate identity, as a concept, covers what kind of culture and image the institutions that are an integral part of society have, how they express themselves and how they are defined by the society they are involved within. Around these two concepts, it could be seen that The State Theater of Izmir is a profound constituent of the city and its theater culture. From an institutional perspective, when the 2000-2019 period of Izmir State Theater is studied, it could be understood that the directors of the institution, which is a regional theater, constitute a determinant factor for the relation between the city and the institution. In the thesis, the large-scale restoration of the Konak Stage which is of high impoetance in terms of the connection between the institution and the city should be specified as the most remarkable fact of all. The destruction and re-construction process of the Karsiyaka Stage is another profound matter of fact in that period`s urban and instituonal memory. Consequently, The State Theater of Izmir is a significant art institution which has been operating on a regular basis since 1957 in Izmir, the third largest city of Turkey. This research emphatically indicates that the city and institutional identity are in a constant interaction with each other and specifically the institutions build an identity pursuant to the urban conditions in which they are involved.