Contemporary Istanbul is back for its 13th Edition!

Bringing together leading international and Turkish contemporary art galleries, Contemporary Istanbul (CI) continues in its 13th edition as a platform for the city’s thriving art scene and growing art market. This year, CI will host 83 galleries from 23 countries, including returning galleries such as Archeus Post Modern, Galleria Continua, Galeria Plan B, Galerie Loevenbruck, Galerie Michael Schultz and Marlborough Gallery, building on their presentations at past editions. CI will also welcome new participants such as Almine Rech, Ethan Cohen, Mohsen Gallery, Galerie Jerome Poggi and The Hole.

Continuing to build its reputation for innovation, this edition will see the expansion of the Gallery Support Program that seeks to assist galleries with their participation in the fair. Launched in 2017 with Bucuresti Mall, this initiative has now grown to assist galleries from countries such as the Netherlands, France, Portugal, Romania and the USA.

Contemporary Istanbul Art, Culture, & Education Foundation (CIACEF) will host CIF Dialogues, with this year’s theme entitled ‘Sensibilities’. CIF Dialogues is composed of the participation of art professionals, museum and gallery directors, artists, and curators, who come together to speak about educational agendas. The theme ‘Sensibilities’ aims at allowing participants to discover their ability to appreciate and understand his or her surroundings, whilst empathizing throughout the process of interpreting different disciplines of art. Individual session topics will pertain to notions of art, architecture & space, technology, innovation, design & heritage and culture. CIF Dialogues hopes to once again create a platform where participants and speakers can exchange ideas and experiences.

Plugin, the new media section of Contemporary Istanbul, will also make a return. This year’s theme, ‘Extra/Ordinary’, aims to delve into how new media art can transform what is ordinary into extraordinary, and in doing so, re-enchant and enrich our lives through new experiences. “With the ever-increasing speed of change and the number of images we are subjected to every day, it has become harder than ever for the artists to catch up with the times and capture the imagination of the masses. New media claims to do just that. And while doing so it transforms the art audience and the art institutions themselves.”

'Extra/Ordinary' focuses on the potential of technology and new media to make the ordinary, unusual, surprising and impressive. It seeks to offer a wide range of new media choices. It explores how technology has entered our lives and although normalised in society, still continues to stay magical. Art and technology meet in new media works, causing the line between ordinary and extraordinary to be uncertain both in life as well as in art.

Contemporary Istanbul takes place from 20 - 23 September 2018. 
For more information, click here.