This year once again Contemporary Istanbul will be held over four days from 28 September – 1 October, 2023. The main partner of Contemporary Istanbul is Akbank.
The fair is held in the historic district of Tersane Istanbul, on the premises of an old shipyard from the Ottoman era, located on the shores of the Golden Horn. It showcases works from 75 galleries and initiatives, representing 22 countries. The event features a strong lineup of galleries from Europe and the Middle East, as well as leading galleries from South America, Africa, East Asia, and the USA.
Initiatives, such as Ka Atölye Ankara; Noks Art Space, İstanbul; KOLİ Art Space, Istanbul; Kıyı Projects, Antalya will also take their places at the fair as well as, institutions: Baksı Museum, Bayburt; Borusan Contemporary, Istanbul; Contemporary Istanbul Foundation, Istanbul; Taksim Sanat, Istanbul.
CI Photo Focus: A New Photography Platform
New to Contemporary Istanbul this year is CI Photo Focus, a platform dedicated to contemporary photography that brings together artists, galleries, and publications to explore the growing interest in photography.
CI Photo Focus, which brings contemporary photography practice to the heart of the fair, aims to explore the importance of photography as an art form by bringing together artists, galleries and publications. In this new section, where 22 artists and 44 works from 8 countries will participate, there will also be 2 talk programs. The panel titled Past, Present and Future of the Photography Market, moderated by Simone Klein, will host Howard Greenberg, Susanne von Meiss, Tony Ventura and Sarp Kerem Yavuz.
This year’s CI Photo Focus selection committee includes Coşar Kulaksız (photographer and curator), Kumru Eren (Managing Director, Borusan Contemporary), Leyla Ünsal (Co-Founder of Versus Art Projects), Sarp Kerem Yavuz (artist) and Tony Ventura (collector).
The Yard – An Outdoor Exhibition
The Yard’s 3rd edition, in partnership with Tosyalı Holding and curated by Marc-Olivier Wahler, will focus on the theme of “construction” with 9 artworks spread across Tersane Istanbul. Marc-Olivier Wahler previously served as the Art Director for Contemporary Istanbul in 2015-2016. In the 18th edition of Contemporary Istanbul, he shaped The Yard around the transformation of industrial products into art objects and selected works that interact dynamically with the environment, incorporating the element of movement, making use of negative space, and creating experiential art pieces. These works will be on display to the public from September 26th to October 1st as part of the fair.
This year, the open-air exhibition will feature artworks by Angela Ferreira, Anne-Julie Raccoursier, Bosco Sodi, Clemens Wolf, Dorian Gaudin, Gianni Motti, Mehmet Ali Uysal, Nasan Tur, and Socratis Socratous.
CIF Dialogues by IGA ART
The CIF Dialogues by İGA ART talk program, which is part of the 18th edition of Contemporary Istanbul, will take place from September 27th to 29th. İGA Istanbul Airport, in partnership with the İGA ART project, which brings art to the world, will host the CIF Dialogues under four main themes at Tersane Istanbul: CI Photo Focus, Art in Public Spaces, Art in Residence, and Nature Design Society Technology. Over the course of three days, 12 panel discussions will be held, featuring notable content in each category. Marc Oliver Wahler will moderate the Art in Public Spaces and Art in Residence panels, Simone Klein and Katie White will lead the CI Photo Focus panels, and Nature Design Society Technology will be moderated by Levent Erden, presenting engaging content to the audience.
Running from September 27th-29th, CIF Dialogues, Contemporary Istanbul’s talks programme, centers around three main themes: CI Photo Focus, Art In Public Spaces and Art in Residence. A three-day talks programme led by Marc-Olivier Wahler will focus on Art in Public Spaces and Art In Residency. Simone Klein will moderate a talks panel discussing The Past, Present, and Future of the Photography Market.
Tersane Istanbul, the venue of the 18th Contemporary Istanbul, is known as an architectural landmark with a historical essence located on the Golden Horn. The site was used by the Ottomans as imperial shipyards and dates back to the 15th century. The historical buildings of Tersane have been recently renovated by the award-winning firm Tabanlioglu Architects.
Twenty one galleries are participating for the first time, 4710 Gallery, Tbilisi; Arma Gallery, Madrid; Aspan Gallery, Almaty; BFM Art Center, Suzhou city; Bogena Galerie, Saint paul de Vence; Callirrhoë, Athens; Furiosa, Mexico City; İbi Art Gallery, Johannesburg; Inloco Gallery, Dubai; In The Gallery, Mallorca; kalashnikovv gallery, Johannesburg; karpuchina gallery, Prague; Lazy Mike Gallery, Riga; Maze Art Group, Tehran; Omelchenko Gallery, Moscow; Rıdvan Kuday Gallery, Diyarbakır; Sconci Gallery, Dubai; SGR Galeria, Bogota; Sistema Gallery, Moscow; the Why Not Gallery, Tbilisi; Yvonne Hohner Contemporary, Karlsruhe.
Contemporary Istanbul 2023, gallery line-up includes; .artSümer, Istanbul; 193 Gallery, Paris; 4710 Gallery, Tbilisi; AB Gallery, Seoul; Ambidexter, Istanbul; Anna Laudel, Düsseldorf, Istanbul; Arma Gallery, Madrid; Art On Istanbul, Istanbul; Aspan Gallery, Almaty; Bavan Gallery, Tehran; BFM Art Center, Suzhou City; Bogena Galerie, Saint Paul de Vence; Bozlu Art Project, Istanbul; BüroSarıgedik, Istanbul; Callirrhoë, Athens, C.A.M. Gallery, Istanbul; Collect Gallery, Sofia, Istanbul; C24 Gallery, New York; Dastan, Tehran; den art, Antalya; Dirimart , Istanbul; FURIOSA, Mexico City; Galeri 77, Istanbul; Galeri Bosfor, Istanbul; Galeri Nev İstanbul, Istanbul; Galeri Siyah Beyaz, Ankara; Galeria Joan Gaspar, Barcelona; Galeria Senda, Barcelona; Gallery Schmidt, Zurich; HOFA, London; IBI ART Gallery, Johannesburg; IN THE GALLERY, Mallorca; INLOCO Gallery, Dubai; KAIROS, Istanbul; Kalashnikovv Gallery, Johannesburg; Karpuchina Gallery, Prague; Lazy Mike Gallery, Riga; Leila Heller Gallery, Dubai, New York; Mariana Custodio Gallery, Lisbon, Istanbul; Mark Hachem, Paris, Beirut; Martch Art Project, Istanbul; Maze Art Group, Tehran; MERKUR, Istanbul, Muse Contemporary, Istanbul; Öktem Aykut, Istanbul; Omelchenko Gallery, Moscow; Pg Art Gallery, Istanbul; Pi Artworks, London, Istanbul; Pilevneli, Istanbul; PILOT, Istanbul; Piramid Sanat, Istanbul; RED ART Istanbul, Istanbul; Rıdvan Kuday Gallery, Diyarbakır; SANATORIUM, Istanbul; Sconci Gallery, Dubai; Sevil Dolmacı Art Gallery, Istanbul; SGR Galeria, Bogota; Simbart Projects, Istanbul; SISTEMA GALLERY, Moscow; SODA, Istanbul; THE PILL®, Istanbul; The Why Not Gallery, Tbilisi; Villa del Arte Galleries, Barcelona, Amsterdam; Vision Art Platform, Istanbul; x-ist, Istanbul; Yvonne Hohner Contemporary, Karlsruhe; Zilberman, Istanbul, Berlin.
