FEDAİ YILDIRIM / ISTANBUL COMMERCE
The first private museum of Turkey, to host modern and contemporary art exhibitions, Istanbul Modern Arts Museum, was opened in 2004, at Tophane's Customs Warehouse nr. 4. Celebrating its 10th year on 11 December, Istanbul Modern had always been able to draw attention of art lovers, thanks to its hit exhibitions, debates, and colorful educational programs.
COLLECTS, PRESERVES, EXHIBITS
Located on a 8 thousand square meters site on the shore of Bosporus, the museum is there to serve as a reference point for global arts scene. It collects, preserves, exhibits and documents modern and contemporary art works, photos, designs, architectural works, new media and cinema productions.
ART LOVERS OF ALL AGES
Serving as an intermediary to share Turkey's cultural identity with the international art scene, Istanbul Modern also supports the artists in their creative efforts and in access to international cooperation. Furthermore, the museum offers educational programs for art lovers of all ages, in order to render art more accessible to masses.
On the other hand, the museum offers a wide variety of services with its limited-time and perpetual exhibits, photo gallery, educational and social programs, library, cinema, restaurant, and museum store.
Each one among the Limited-Time Exhibits Hall, Photo Gallery, and Short Exhibit Halls of Istanbul Modern sees 2 or 3 limited-time exhibits per year. The museum also offers exhibits on modern and contemporary art from Turkey, and the works of artists from Turkey. It also serves as home to local and international exhibits which signify recent transformations in a number of fields such as visual arts, architecture, design, and new media.
LEADING NAMES IN PHOTOGRAPHY
Istanbul Modern Photo Gallery showcases bits and pieces from the history of photography, and serves as a witness of the recent transformation in the art of photography. The gallery presents the reflections of art movements on photography, and the history of photography in Turkey. Moreover, the museum exhibits works by leading names of photography in the national and international arena.
FOR 10TH YEAR ANNIVERSARY
The museum celebrated its 10th year anniversary, with an exhibit titled 'Çok Sesli' (Polyphonic) emphasizing the relationship between sound, music, and visual arts, and another one titled 'Yüzyıllık Aşk' (Centennial Love) with reference to the 100th year of Turkish cinema. Moreover, the exterior of the museum building is adorned with 'Gökkuşak' (Rainbow) by Sarkis.
EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN
The museum offers activities such as painting and model-building for all age groups, in order to introduce them to contemporary and modern arts. These activities are organized in parallel to exhibits, and run on weekdays and weekends. Furthermore, the museum offers free events for children with special needs, blind persons, and mothers and children.
On the other hand, children in 4-12 age group can also visit the exhibits on weekends, and programs about the life of artists. These are designed to provide children with a feeling for different walks of art, from painting to sculpture, video to performance, design to architecture.
WOMEN ARE MORE INTERESTED
Istanbul Modern's Curator, Oya Eczacıbaşı noted the particular interest of women in contemporary arts, and pointed out the fact that 67 percent of local visitors were women. Eczacıbaşı said that the museum was visited by more than 5 million in 10 years, that it offered 5 permanent and 78 limited-time exhibits on its grounds, which, when coupled with 16 exhibits held abroad, brought the tally to 99. Eczacıbaşı, referring to the visitor profile, said "60 percent are local visitors, while 40 percent are foreigners. 67 percent of local visitors are women. In case of foreigners, both genders are represented equally. 25 percent of local visitors are younger than 28 years."
BIENNALES
Istanbul Modern also served the host of Istanbul Biennale, and engaged in cooperations with London Design Museum, Verbund Collection in Vienna, and Photograph biennales of Thessalonica and Moscow.
OFFERS EXHIBITS ABROAD
Istanbul Modern also offers exhibits at Berlin Martin Gropius-Bau, Seoul Art Museum, Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum in the Netherlands, National Museum of Bahrain, and Minsheng National Art Museum in China.
Furthermore, Istanbul Modern was among the official sponsors of the events Turkish Season in France, 400th Year Celebrations of the Relations Between Turkey and the Netherlands, Turkey-China Year, and Turkey-Poland Year.