Contemporary art fair comes to Ankara

ANKARA

The painting titled ‘Holy Relics’ by Yakup Cem will be brought to the fair under tight security measures.

The 1st Art Ankara Contemporary Art Fair kicks off today in the capital. The fair will host national and international artists and exhibitions until March 15. One of the most important figures of Iranian contemporary art, Bijan Sayfouri, will be a guest of the event.

The fair will present some 2,000 works by nearly 300 artists. Among the works is Turkish painter Yakup Cem’s painting titled “Holy Relics,” which will be brought to Ankara for the fair under tight security measures.

Seventy galleries including Bali Sanat, RC Sanat, Soyut Sanat, Fırça Sanat, Nurol Sanat and Yurt Dünya Sanat and museums including Mustafa Ayaz, İMOGA and UKKSA will join the event.

The fair is organized by ATİS Fair Management in collaboration with the All Art Galleries Association (TÜSGAD) and the United Painters and Sculptors Association (BRHD) at the ATO Congresium Congress and Exhibition Hall.

ATİS Fair Management President Bilgin Aygül said despite Ankara being the capital of politics, it had lost its importance in the arts, since such a fair has not been held for many years.

“Our goal is to make the city the center of contemporary art once again.  The city is home to many organizations dealing with contemporary art. This is why we organized this fair to support them. We expect more than 40,000 visitors to the fair,” he said.