İstanbul Modern


İstanbul Modern, a.k.a. Istanbul Museum of Modern Art, is a museum of contemporary art in the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul, Turkey. Inaugurated on December 11, 2004, the museum focuses on artists from Turkey. Levent Çalıkoğlu is the Museum Director General, and Oya Eczacıbaşı serves as the Chair of the Board of Directors.

Location

The museum opened in a former maritime warehouse called Antrepo #4, repurposed by Tabanlıoğlu Architects. Located on the Bosphorus in the Tophane neighborhood, this site features exhibition spaces on both floors. The top floor hosts the display of the permanent collection, rooms for education programs, a shop, and a restaurant, while the lower floor is used for temporary exhibitions, Istanbul Modern Cinema, and the library.
In 2018 the museum was constructing a new building, designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop for a site in the Galata Port development. It planned to permanently close this venue on March 18, 2018. The museum will temporarily move its operation to the Union Française building in Beyoğlu, designed in 1896 by architect Alexander Vallaury.
Funds for the museum's new building are provided by the institution's founding sponsor, the Eczacıbaşı Group, along with Doğuş Group, Bilgili Holding, and a consortium behind Galata Port, a $1.2 billion redevelopment initiative. This redevelopment has been subject to criticism since 2008, and construction was stopped temporarily in 2017 after a historic building was destroyed that was supposed to be preserved and reused.

Collection

The permanent collection features works by a wide range of artists from Turkey, including Hoca Ali Riza, Mıgırdiç Civanyan, Nuri Iyem, Hikmet Onat, Nurullah Berk, Burhan Dogançay, Nedim Gunsur, Omer Uluc, Aydan Özmenoğlu, Cevdet Erek, Şener Özmen, Bengü Karaduman, Hüseyin Çağlayan, Burcu Yağcıoğlu, CANAN, İnci Eviner, Handan Börüteçene, Hale Tenger, Yusuf Taktak, Seyhun Topuz, Şükran Moral, Sarkis, and Abdulmejid II, the last Caliph of the Ottoman Dynasty. It also includes works by international artists, including Tony Cragg, Julian Opie, Monica Bonvicini, Adrian Villar Rojas, Olafur Eliasson, Liam Gillick, Doug Aitken, and Jennifer Allora & Guillermo Calzadilla.