Istanbul claimed the new
Center of Attraction for Art,
Art-lovers to meet at Contemporary
Istanbul between October 16 – 19
In its third edition this year, Contemporary Istanbul continues to open up the cultural and artistic life of Istanbul to the world at large as one of the most comprehensive “contemporary art events” of Turkey to date.
Contemporary Istanbul will be open for visitors this year between October 16-19, 2008 at Istanbul Convention and Exhibition Center, showcasing works of art from all around the globe with the sponsorship of Akbank Private Banking. This cooperation between Akbank and Contemporary Istanbul aims to provide a good example of the close relationship between the worlds of art and finance and will definitely be a milestone in the development of both the production and consumption of contemporary art in Turkey.
Contemporary Istanbul devised a highly efficient communication plan for this year with its national media sponsors and with ads and reviews appearing in 28 magazines from 13 countries on the international platform. The Metropolitan Municipality of Istanbul will promote Contemporary Istanbul to millions of people living in the city through more ad space than the past two years.
Contemporary Istanbul is expected to draw more than 50,000 viewers this year with numerous special projects that will be of interest to all art-lovers. Contemporary Istanbul will as usual showcase numerous paintings, sculptures, photographs, installations, videos and digital art works; in addition, it will host special exhibitions from abroad and will exhibit works of video artists from all around the globe under its special section, “International Video Screenings”.
Contemporary Istanbul will take place with a wide participation, presenting works of art by a total of 238 artists, 148 of them Turkish and the remaining 90 foreign. Aside from art galleries, Contemporary Istanbul will also host art initiatives this year. Through this project undertaken with the support of 2010 European Capital of Culture, the visitors will have the chance to get acquainted with some of the most striking examples of contemporary art by young artists from our country.
A name that will come up often in Contemporary Istanbul will be Burhan Doğançay, the first Turkish artist to have a museum dedicated to himself with the foundation of The Doğançay Museum in 2004. Contemporary Istanbul will not only provide a good opportunity to observe the contributions of Doğançay to Turkish contemporary art but will also showcase his recently finished work, which is the biggest in size among all his works (2.7×5.0 m) and which has the highest asking price ever in Turkey, 1.0 million USD. Moreover, Akbank Private Banking VIP Lounge will host yet unseen works of Doğançay.
Alongside artist initiatives like Doğançay, Caravansarai, 5533 and Hafriyat, art-lovers will also have the chance to see world class masters in Contemporary Istanbul. Not only Andy Warhol, who has climbed up to become the number one artist in sales with a total worth of 410 million USD in 2007, but also Gerhard Richter, Sam Francis, Sigmar Polke, Alen Jones and Tom Wesselman will have works on display. Tony Cragg, Mayumi Okabayashi, Mike Berg, Semiha Berksoy, İnci Eviner, Kezban Arca Batıbeki and Ahmet Elhan are only some of the numerous other names whose works will be showcased in Contemporary Istanbul…
Istanbul’s art scene will be very lively throughout October. The overlapping of the dates of the Dali exhibition in Sabancı Museum, new exhibitions in Istanbul Museum of Modern Art, The Design Week, Akbank Jazz Festival and Contemporary Istanbul is a sure sign of this… Aside from all these events, the parties that Contemporary Istanbul will organize in various elite venues of the city will be a must for all art-lovers. Moreover, Sotheby’s Art Institute will organize a seminar for the training of young collectors in The Sofa Hotel as part of Contemporary Istanbul program.
With the participant galleries and works on display in Istanbul Convention and Exhibition Center Rumeli Halls, with parallel events, social responsibility projects and the artistic production power of the city itself, Contemporary Istanbul will surely be the new center of attraction for art…
