Periodical Factors Leading to the Establishment of the Mediterranean Opera and Ballet Club (AKOB)
In enriching the artistic and cultural life of Mersin, two associations founded after the 1980s played a crucial role through the desire, determination, and active participation of the city’s residents to reach higher aesthetic values: İçel Art Club and the Mersin Cultural Center Association.
Founded in 1989, the İçel Art Club became a foundational institution that not only contributed a wide range of multifaceted activities to the city’s cultural and artistic life, but also provided permanent venues such as the Nevit Kodallı Concert Hall. It also paved the way for the emergence of various artistic and cultural formations and institutions in the city.
The Mersin Cultural Center Association, on the other hand, undertook major responsibilities in the past and is remembered for its significant contributions to Mersin’s musical life. With the support and devoted efforts of the people of Mersin, this association persistently demanded the establishment of an opera and ballet institution in the city from the Ministry of Culture, proposing the former Mersin Community Center building as its location. After the decision to establish the Mersin State Opera and Ballet Directorate in this building, the association contributed to its renovation and technical equipment. For many years, it cooperated closely with the Mersin State Opera and Ballet Directorate, channeling numerous contributions from the city to the institution. It also took the lead in acquiring a concert grand piano for the Opera House through the initiative of local art lovers and institutions.
From the program celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Mersin State Opera and Ballet, the International Mersin Music Festival, now held annually, was born. The association played an important role in the festival’s acceptance as a member of the European Festivals Association (EFA), in the development of polyphonic music culture in Mersin, and in opening the city to the international art world. In subsequent years, due to legal requirements, the association’s name was changed to the Mersin Culture and Arts Association. Following the passing of its president, Hanri Atat—an important supporter of culture and the arts—the association transferred the festival’s organization to the Mersin Arts Events Association in 2008 and gradually entered a period of inactivity.
In 2008, with the recommendations, guidance, and contributions to the drafting of its charter by Selman Ada—one of Turkey’s prominent composers and orchestra conductors, who assumed the position of Director of the Mersin State Opera and Ballet—the Mediterranean Opera and Ballet Club Association (AKOB) was established. With the founding of this institution to support the Mersin Opera and Ballet Directorate and the city’s musical life, efforts began to sustain the spirit and objectives of the former Mersin Cultural Center Association.
As of 2026, the Mediterranean Opera and Ballet Club has entered its eighteenth year. Through concerts organized with artists from Turkey and abroad; national and international projects and programs it has implemented and continues to sustain; and the creative relationships and collaborations it has established with respected individuals and institutions in the field, AKOB has significantly expanded and deepened its founding objectives, becoming not only an important cultural institution for Mersin but also for Turkey as a whole.
In addition to its events, AKOB began making its voice heard nationwide in publishing with the launch of the “AKOB” Culture and Arts Magazine in March 2010. Taking pride in publishing Turkey’s first Opera and Ballet magazine following the first opera and ballet performance in Anatolia, which took place in 1947 at the Mersin Community Center, the Mediterranean Opera and Ballet Club has drawn attention as a voice rising from Anatolia in the field of music publishing through AKOB Magazine.
Through children’s song notation books, culture and arts publications; the National Chamber Music Competition; Culture and Arts Seminar Series; the Young Recitals brand project supporting young musicians; a Scholarship Fund; a Baroque Music Ensemble; the Children’s Music Academy project; and many other programs, AKOB continues to progress toward significant, inclusive, transformative, sustainable, and meaningful goals.
Mission and Objectives of the Mediterranean Opera and Ballet Club Association (AKOB)
Mission
The association was established to promote the development of Turkish National Contemporary Opera, Ballet, Chamber Music, Choral, and Symphonic Music; and to support and protect artists and the related cultural heritage. The Mediterranean Opera and Ballet Association operates in the fields of culture and the arts.
Objectives
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To monitor, support, cooperate with, and develop joint projects with the Mersin State Opera and Ballet institution, its artists, and its activities.
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To organize and cooperate in local, national, and international competitions, concerts, festivals, and celebrations aligned with its mission.
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To provide scholarships, instruments, and equipment support to exceptionally talented young artists.
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To develop and implement projects that support the education and artistic growth of talented and successful children and young people in need of support in polyphonic and symphonic music, thereby improving their quality of life.
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To establish an “Opera and Ballet Museum” in Mersin.
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To bring together Opera and Ballet institutions from Mediterranean countries on an international platform, establish a league, and develop joint educational and artistic projects.
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To organize research and educational activities, publish materials, and enrich the knowledge and cultural accumulation of its members in polyphonic music, symphonic music, opera, and ballet.
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To establish and operate social, cultural, and artistic facilities.
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To create visual and audio archives related to Opera and Ballet, publish musical scores, and protect copyrights.