Turkey’s first new media and digital art museum opens

ISTANBUL

A first of its kind in Turkey bringing technology, science and art together, X Media Art Museum (XMAM) is now open to welcome visitors.

“The works belong to many people, not just one person. At XMAM, audiences become a part of the museum. It is involved both physically and emotionally. XMAM’s first exhibition brings together the data, which has more than 500 years of cultural and artistic heritage, with the audience. We will continue to research and develop this art further,” said Mert Fırat, one of the founders of the museum.

Stating that a permanent digital art museum was opened in Turkey for the first time, Muzaffer Yıldırım, another founder of the museum, said: “XMAM is a first in its field. Art meets museum visitors with a different experience. Exhibitions in the museum will change every three months. The Leonardo Da Vinci experience, our first exhibition, describes Leonardo Da Vinci not only as a painter but also with a scientific study of his works. The combination of the piece with the music of Ludovico Einaudi and Mercan Dede, the composer of the Oscar-winning film Nomadland, also makes this exhibition an unforgettable experience.”

The world-famous Ouchhh studio’s “Leonardo Da Vinci: Wisdom of AI Light Exhibition,” starting with Leonardo Da Vinci’s drawings and continuing with 3D modeling, uses the artist’s inventions, machine drawings and sketches as a database. Leonardo Da Vinci’s knowledge to artificial intelligence are reflected in an abstract aesthetic language throughout the space as particles with 15 billion brush strokes.

XMAM will also host training, workshops and production activities. The museum, which will also organize educational programs for children, will produce works that incorporate art and technology into everyone’s life. Esra Özkan is the director of the digital art museum, founded by Fırat, Yıldırım, Ferdi Buyer and Eylül Duranağaç Ali. DasDas founders Didem Balçın, Harun Tekin and Koray Candemir support the museum, which is located in Metropol Istanbul.