Private Museology

This study aims at examining the integration of private museology into Istanbul¿s culture industry in the twenty-first-century, and focuses on the case of the Pera Museum by looking at its communication strategies with regards to visitor perceptions and the museum¿s reputation. In this context, this study examines the concept of museology both in modern and postmodern periods, and looks at the developments in Turkish museology in the twenty-first-century when private museums carrying a postmodern understanding of museology joined Istanbul¿s culture industry. Moreover, based on a survey research conducted in January 2009 at the Pera Museum, one of the most distinguished private museums in Istanbul, the study analyzes the effects of postmodern museology on museum visitors. It discusses the ways in which perceptions and expectations of visitors changed as they were exposed to messages and offerings of the private museums during the postmodern period.