Autumn brings Contemporary Istanbul to the city, in a brand new location

The 16th Contemporary Isanbul will be welcoming visitors at Tersane Istanbul between October 5-10, 2021 in Tersane Istanbul. Tersane Istanbul is a renewal and restoration project that contains the Camialti and Taskizak shipyards.

The expo will feature contemporary art galleries rom Moscow and St. Petersburg under the Focus Russia project as well as a museums section that will showcase New York’s Modern Museum of Art (MoMA) and Garage Museum of Contemporary Art from Moscow.

Tersane Istanbul is a new space that is designed by Tabanlioglu Architects and eagerly awaited by the public. The project was the winner of Future Projects - Leisure Led Development at the World Architecture Festival in 2019. Tabanlioglu Architects finished the project eight months  ahead of time in order to ready the space for Contemporary Istanbul, and will open the doors to Tersane Istanbul eight months ahead of the planned date.

Tersane Istanbul aims to be one of the new meeting points for area residents, an addition to the Golden Horn that is one of the most significant culture and arts renewal and regional development projects in Istanbul in recent years.

“Contemporary Istanbul, a project which we have been supporting with faith and trust since its first day, renews itself every year, seeks larger targets, and produces even more exciting work,” Akbank Chairwoman of the Executive Board Suzan Sabanci Dincer says. She adds that there was an extra effort made to have the expo take place in Tersane Istanbul, and that she is very excited as she expects very effective results.

“It will be quite a different expo this year, not just because of the change of venue, but also because life has gone back to ‘normal’ to some extent,” she continues. “I am fully confident that visitors will experience a different and pioneering contemporary art experience thanks to museums, galleries and artists who will join the expo for the first time, starting with Russia.”

Contemporary Istanbul Chairman of the Executive Board Ali Gureli says “we are doing our part to have Istanbul be considered among the world metropolitan cities - in the top five - with [the city’s] change and revival, and the progress made in the culture and arts arena.”

Contemporary Istanbul’s  preparations are going full steam ahead, Gureli adds. The fact that it has moved to a new location, Tersane Istanbul on the Golden Horn, he points out, “marks a new and exciting era for the expo.” Gureli notes that the plan is to bring artists, participants, collectors together with culture, arts and technology at Tersane Istanbul, one of the largest regional renewal projects in the past few years, previously used as a shipyard during Ottoman times and the first years of the Republic.

Gureli, in a news statement, continues to say that more members of the press will be hosted with the support of Turkiye Tourism Promotion and Development Agency (TGA) during the expo. The press will not only visit the expo but will explore Istanbul as well. “Turkish Airlines (THY) is offering art tours for art lovers to visit Contemporary Istanbul and then continue their journeys with other arts and culture destinations of the world. “I have no doubt that these two collaborations will make a positive contribution to Istanbul’s promotion,” Gureli says.

Gureli also mentions the Focus Russia project, noting they will host contemporary art galleries from Moscow and St. Petersburg, along with the museum section featuring the MoMA and Garage Museum of Contemporary Art. “We will host these museums’ supporters and collectors at Contemporary Istanbul,” he says.

Contemporary Istanbul will also feature the second edition of Istanbul the Lights, in which large-scale sculptures and digital new media projects created by local and international artists will be exhibited in Istanbul’s squares and parks, in collaboration with the Istanbul Municipality. A selection from among these artworks will be displayed at the expo area.

You can access the latest information about Contemporary Istanbul at contemporaryistanbul.com as well as on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Thumbnail image: Ahmet Gunestekin, Gelene-ek series, 11. 70x122x35 cm, mixed media 2021

Headline image: An aerial view of the new location of Contemporary Istanbul, Tersane Istanbul.