ART FAIRS: Contemporary Istanbul 2015

The first Istanbul Biennial took place in 1989, and since then 200 galleries have been founded in the city. Istanbul Modern Museum opened in 2004, becoming Turkey’s first museum dedicated to contemporary art. Although it only became known as Contemporary Istanbul in 2006, the history of the fair stretches back further than that. Contemporary Istanbul was first conducted as Art Istanbul in 2000.

By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: Contemporary Istanbul Archive

For the 10th edition of the fair, Contemporary Istanbul opens its doors to the public, at the Istanbul Congress Centre and Istanbul Convention and Exhibition Centre, with 102 galleries (23 new entries) from 24 countries. CI Focus explores contemporary art in Tehran through 6 participating Galleries. As part of this year’s Focus program, 12 works from The Mobarqa Collection, owned by Nadeer Mobarqa and his wife, are on display. This exceptional collection of over 600 works of Iranian modern and contemporary art includes drawings, installations, paintings, photographs, prints, sculpture and video art. The Emerging Sector features works from 10 Galleries from Turkey and 1Gallery from Georgia. The Plugin New Media Section presented at the ICEC, features a selection of galleries, architecture and design studios and new media related initiatives that respond to the curatorial theme of X-CHANGE, exploring emerging practices of production and interaction in contemporary media cultures. Curated by Dr. Ebru Yetiskin, X-CHANGE presents an array of genres including sound and light installations, kinetic sculptures, interactive and generative design, hologram installations and robotic designs. This year, Contemporary Istanbul is hosting a new program called Solo Shows, where five galleries curate presentations of one of their represented artists. The artists are: Marco Di Giovanni, Adam Jastrzebski, İhsan Oturmak, Bogdan Rata and Zio Ziegler. CI Building Bridges: In a project coordinated by the Australia China Art Foundation, CI is bringing a diverse and sometimes challenging group of art works and experiences to Istanbul, which will be exhibited in private and public spaces around the city. CI Editions is aiming at presenting editions as an important field of art’s production, as well as an effective way to distribute art works to a wider audience, and win new collectors and art lovers.

Info: Contemporary Istanbul 2015, Istanbul Congress Centre, Darulbedai Cad. No: 3, Sisli & Istanbul Convention and Exhibition Centre, Gümüş Cad. No: 4, Harbiye, Istanbul, Duration: 12-15/11/15, Hours: 11:00-20:00, http://contemporaryistanbul.com