Presenting the best examples of contemporary art works from Turkey and region to the taste of art enthusiasts, Contemporary Istanbul will take place at Lütfi Kırdar ICEC Rumeli Hall and Istanbul Congress Center between November 3-6. Hosting 1,050 works of 520 artists from 70 galleries and 19 countries, Contemporary Istanbul is counting the days for meeting with art enthusisasts to make its debut with its new sections. Extending over Europe and US along with the countries of Middle East, the Balkans, the Caucasus and East Mediterranean through the strength it takes from its regional character, Contemporary Istanbul stands for a contemporary art fair that addresses the whole world. This year’s program hosts works from more than 200 international artists including: the German painter and installation artist, Franz Ackermann; having works taken place in corporate collections abroad, Yeşim Akdeniz; deemed worthy of awards owing to his works that he exhibited in various countries with Italy being in the first place and created a unique language between photography and picture, Ali Alışır; exhibited his videos, photograph and book installations in many galleries abroad, Can Altay; questioning the established artistic perspective along with her ceramic, sculpture, video and photographic works, Burçak Bingöl; having his works in countless museums of the world, the Chilean artist Victor Castillo; the winner of the Golden Palm Award, director, movie and photography artist, Nuri Bilge Ceylan; standing out with her videos, photographs, sculptures and drawings, the young artist Sibel Diker; having exhibited a wide selection of works throughout her 40-year long life of art in Istanbul Modern, İnci Eviner; uniting painting and performing arts together in his works, the Spanish artist Yago Hortal; having her works displayed at the Istanbul Biennial in 2009, the Palestinian artist Wafa Hourani; one of the leading artists of the performance art in Turkey, Şükran Moral; bringing photography and the aesthetics of sketches, the American artist Isca Greenfield-Sanders; renowned by his photographic and video works, the Persian artist Mamali Shafahi and bringing new perspectives into the matter of intercultural identity, the Persian artist Farniyaz Zaker. Collectors’ Stories will assemble 120 works from the 60 leading contemporary art collections of Turkey for the first time in Contemporary Istanbul. Within the scope of the project, the works of the leading collectors of Turkey which they will choose from their own collections will be exhibited on a space spreading over 1,500 sqm of the fair area. Paving the way for the collectors to present their own esthetic perspectives, the exhibition will bring forward the periodical alterations of art collectorship and its current state in Turkey. Therefore the tendencies regarding art collecting, its motivations and strategies will be documented. Assembling different standings, selections and collections, the project aims to revive the spirit of togetherness and create a virtual route map for art collectors of the new generation. Work selections will be made personally by the collectors throughout the exhibition and it is going to shape the perspectives of young collectors, visitors and art enthusiasts.
