Istanbul museum offers virtual exhibition to art lovers

ISTANBUL

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Istanbul’s Pera Museum and Istanbul Research Institute (İAE) have opened their collections and periodicals to online access at Google Arts & Culture.

According to the statement made by the museum, both institutions opened their digital exhibitions and collections to “virtual travel” for those who do not want to stay away from the culture and arts environment, as museums have closed to prevent the spread of the new type of coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

Art lovers will be able to examine the art works in the collection and extraordinary exhibitions that examine the Istanbul city culture through the Google Arts & Culture platform.

The online users will also be able to take a virtual tour at the “Crossing Worlds: Ambassadors and Painters” and “Osman Hamdi Bey” exhibitions with 360-degree images.

The online visitors will be able to see “Taksim: The Heart of Istanbul,” one of the prominent exhibitions of the platform which sheds light on the changes and transformations that Taksim Square has undergone from the 19th century to the 1960s through photographs, engravings and maps.

The exhibition was opened to visitors on a platform called “Kavuşma Durağı” (Convergence Stop) established by Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality in Taksim Square.

Other exhibitions that the Institute has transferred to the digital media include “Wooden Istanbul,” which offers examples of wooden housing architecture such as the German Embassy Summer House, Kayserili Ahmed Pasha Mansion, Zeyrek District Houses.

“Long Stories” focusing on the historical topography of Istanbul through the “Melling and Dunn” panoramas are among the exhibitions one click away.

A large number of visual materials were made available in English and Turkish texts of the exhibitions through Google Arts & Culture, it said in the statement.