The personal archive of Armenian actor, director, writer and publisher Hagop Ayvaz encompasses a period spanning from the mid-19th century, when first attempts for theatrical productions were made, till the beginning of the 21 st century. While shedding light on the history of Ottoman-Turkishtheater, this archive also contributes greatly to the collective memory.

The archive, donated to the Agos newspaper after Ayvaz’s death in 2006, consists of around 300theatrical play manuscripts in Ottoman, Armenian and Turkish, more than 300 printed texts of plays in three languages, more than 500 periodicals, magazines and brochures in Armenian and Turkish, around 12,000 photographs, posters, cartoons, newspaper and magazine clips, invitations, drawings and postcards. The archive had achieved a more coherent and whole structure after the donation in2019 to the Hrant Dink Foundation of some of Ayvaz’s personal effects, awards, a 1104-issue full collection of his culture and arts magazine Kulis published uninterruptedly from 1946 till 1996 in Armenian.

Fully digitalized by the Hrant Dink Foundation and opened for access as part of this exhibition, this multilingual and multilayered archive is an original and invaluable source for researchers working on performance arts in the Ottoman period and Turkey as well as popular culture.

Click here to access the archive and detailed information.