Artweeks welcomes art enthusiasts in Istanbul

ISTANBUL

The 10th edition of Artweeks, organized by Bilgili Holding twice a year since 2018 and showcasing prominent Turkish art galleries as well as private and corporate collections, opened in Istanbul on Oct. 1.

During the opening of the event, Begüm Güney, director of cultural and art projects and curator at Bilgili Art, said that new galleries have joined the event, which features 26 galleries this year.

Güney mentioned that one of the innovations for the 10th edition is the "Encounter Wall," saying, "I can count the exhibition 'Ondan Beri' [Since Then] and the 'Encounter Wall' as innovations. In the ‘Encounter Wall,’ we are featuring 14 independent artists. For the 'Ondan Beri' exhibition, we created a selection from all the galleries participating in the 10th edition. We planned an exhibition where we created an aesthetic and formal harmony, even though it did not have a common conceptual point, and where artists could interact with different artists."

Noting that every edition features collaborations from different creative fields, Güney said, "In a few previous editions, we collaborated with fashion. Now, we have a project partner from the field of architecture. The event spans an area of 6,600 square meters and will run for 14 days. It is open to the public every day, except for Monday, Oct. 7. It is an event where we see nearly 1,000 works of art from Turkish and global, young and master artists, representing almost every medium and experience in art."

This year’s participating galleries include Merkur Gallery, Martch Art Project, Sevil Dolmacı, Mine Art Gallery, Kun Art Space, the Key Art Gallery, Artopol, Frank Art Studio, Pilot, C.A.M Gallery, E'art Gallery, Sanatorium, Bosfor, Olcay Art, Galeri/Miz, Birim, X-ist, Muse Contemporary, Adas, Mariana Custodio, Chi Art Gallery and Ambidexter.

The event, which will conclude on Oct.14, will feature various talks moderated by Harvard Business Review, with exhibitions and discussions open to everyone and free of charge.