Back	Special Exhibition at the Ottoman Bank Museum: "From Guilds to SMEs: Tradesmen and Artisans of Yore" The Ottoman Bank Museum, operating under the aegis of the Garanti Bank, is hosting another one of its own projects, an exhibition titled, "From Guilds to SMEs: Tradesmen and Artisans of Yore". Retracing the past of small and medium entreprises (SMEs), that make up the core of Turkish economy today, the exhibition explores the six century-long tradition of Ottoman guilds, from which present-day SMEs draw their roots. Bülent Erkmen designed the display concept and Prof. Zafer Toprak acted as economic consultant and wrote the script for the exhibition, which features large-scale reproductions of 52 photographs from the private collection of photography historian, Engin Özendes. The exhibition will run from May 14 through August 14, 2004, and will be open to the public every day, between 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. "This is not an exhibition of photographs," says Bülent Erkmen, who designed the display concept. "It is an exhibition that expresses itself through photographs, and in a way 'uses' them to convey its meaning. The organization of the display panels in the gallery, the somewhat convoluted installation, the captions on the panels linking the photographs to a particular trade or craft, all aim to recreate, in the exhibition as a whole, an abstract evocation of a 'market place'." "This exhibition throws light on fascinating aspects of our social history," adds Engin Özendes. "In the mid-19th century, when long exposures were required for every picture taken, early Ottoman photographers recorded street scenes in natural daylight but most of their important work was done in the studio. Where previously, engravings and paintings had been used to represent a sometimes idealized or imaginary reality, photographers, now provided with a new medium to produce more accurate images, began to create scenes they believed the West expected of them, and to portray people from every background in their studio photographs."