{"id":76938,"date":"2026-08-26T00:01:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-25T21:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/art50.net\/contemporary-istanbul-21st-edition-counting-down\/"},"modified":"2026-09-04T15:03:08","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T12:03:08","slug":"contemporary-istanbul-21st-edition-counting-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/art50.net\/en\/contemporary-istanbul-21st-edition-counting-down\/","title":{"rendered":"Contemporary Istanbul 21st Edition Counting Down"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Taking place at <\/span>Tersane Istanbul<\/span><\/strong> from <\/span>23\u201327 September 2026<\/span><\/strong> with Akbank as its main partner, the 21st edition of Contemporary Istanbul brings together more than 70 galleries from 24 countries.<\/span><\/p><\/p>\n\n

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With the number of participating galleries increasing by more than 40% compared to 2025, the fair once again transforms Istanbul into one of the most important meeting points for the international art world this autumn. Bringing together galleries, artists, collectors and art professionals from different geographies, the fair creates a platform for new encounters and collaborations among the actors of the global art ecosystem.<\/p>\n\n

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Taking place with Tersane Istanbul as its Cultural Destination Partner and BMW, distributed in T\u00fcrkiye by Borusan Otomotiv, as its co-partner, CI21 continues to be one of the most important events on Istanbul\u2019s cultural calendar with its international gallery programme, art projects, talks and special events.<\/p>\n\n

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One of the strongest indicators of the fair\u2019s growing international appeal is that one quarter of the participating galleries will be taking part in Contemporary Istanbul for the first time. Seventeen new galleries from leading art centres across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America and North America are bringing new perspectives and strong international diversity to this year\u2019s edition.<\/p>\n\n

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First-Time Participating Galleries<\/h3>\n\n

Galeria Francisco Fino (Lisbon)<\/p>\n\n

Galeria Karla Osorio (S\u00e3o Paulo)<\/p>\n\n

Galerie Diego Escobar (Marseille)<\/p>\n\n

Galerie La La Lande (Paris)<\/p>\n\n

Galerie Tanit (Munich, Beirut)<\/p>\n\n

Galerie Thomas Schulte (Berlin)<\/p>\n\n

Galerie Vallois (Paris)<\/p>\n\n

Michel Rein (Paris, Brussels)<\/p>\n\n

Pearl Lam Projects (Hong Kong, Shanghai)<\/p>\n\n

Takato Kano Gallery (Tokyo)<\/p>\n\n

Whitestone Gallery (Hong Kong, Taipei, Beijing, Tokyo, Karuizawa, Singapore, Seoul)<\/p>\n\n

Villa Magdalena (Madrid)<\/p>\n\n

Artiscape (Dubai, Istanbul)<\/p>\n\n

Rast Gallery (Istanbul)<\/p>\n\n

R\u0131dvan Kuday (Diyarbak\u0131r)<\/p>\n\n

Method Gallery (New Delhi)<\/p>\n\n

Shiva Zahed (Tehran, Istanbul)<\/p>\n\n

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Among these new participants, <\/span>Pearl Lam Projects, Takato Kano Gallery<\/span> and <\/span>Whitestone Gallery<\/span>are also among the galleries featured within <\/span>Focus: Asia<\/span><\/strong>, Contemporary Istanbul\u2019s regional focus for this year.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

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New Grounds<\/h3>\n\n

New Grounds, CI21\u2019s section dedicated to providing visibility for young galleries and a new generation of artists, will take its place in the 2026 edition.<\/p>\n\n

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Friedrichs Pontone (New York)<\/p>\n\n

Ka (Ankara)<\/p>\n\n

Karpuchina Gallery (Prague)<\/p>\n\n

Method Gallery (New Delhi)<\/p>\n\n

Rast Gallery (Istanbul)<\/p>\n\n

Shiva Zahed (Tehran, Istanbul)<\/p>\n\n

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Rashid Al Khalifa, Inhabited Crate – Multicolored, 2026, Galvanised Steel Mesh, 480 \u00d7 380 \u00d7 300 cm. Courtesy of the artist and RAK Art Collection, Saar, Bahrain. \n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
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Contemporary Istanbul<\/span> will host a monumental installation by Bahraini artist <\/span>Rashid Al Khalifa<\/span>, titled <\/span>Inhabited Crate – Multicolored<\/span>, as part of its 21st edition. Curated by <\/span>Marc-Olivier Wahler<\/span>, Director of the Geneva Museum of Art and History, the work brings together contemporary art and Istanbul\u2019s industrial and maritime heritage.<\/span><\/p><\/p>\n\n

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Returning Participating Galleries<\/h3>\n\n

Andrea Rehder Arte Contemporanea (S\u00e3o Paulo)<\/p>\n\n

Anna Laudel (Istanbul, Ankara, D\u00fcsseldorf)<\/p>\n\n

Art On Istanbul (Istanbul)<\/p>\n\n

Art S\u00fcmer (Istanbul)<\/p>\n\n

AWC Contemporary (Dubai)<\/p>\n\n

Bozlu Art (Istanbul)<\/p>\n\n

Buchmann Galerie (Berlin)<\/p>\n\n

B\u00fcro Sar\u0131gedik (Istanbul)<\/p>\n\n

DG Art Gallery (Istanbul, Bodrum)<\/p>\n\n

Faar Gallery (Istanbul, London)<\/p>\n\n

Ferda Art Platform (Istanbul)<\/p>\n\n

Galeri Nev \u0130stanbul (Istanbul)<\/p>\n\n

Galeri Siyah Beyaz (Ankara)<\/p>\n\n

Galeri 77 (Istanbul)<\/p>\n\n

Galeria Joan Gaspar (Barcelona)<\/p>\n\n

Galerie Esther Woerdehoff (Paris)<\/p>\n\n

Galerija Fotografija (Ljubljana)<\/p>\n\n

Gillian Jason Gallery (London)<\/p>\n\n

JD Malat Gallery (London, Dubai)<\/p>\n\n

Leila Heller Gallery (New York, Dubai)<\/p>\n\n

Mark Hachem Gallery (Paris, Beirut)<\/p>\n\n

Martch Art Project (Istanbul)<\/p>\n\n

Muse Contemporary (Istanbul)<\/p>\n\n

Pedro Cera (Lisbon, Madrid)<\/p>\n\n

PG Art Gallery (Istanbul)<\/p>\n\n

Pi Artworks (Istanbul, London)<\/p>\n\n

Piramid Sanat (Istanbul)<\/p>\n\n

Pontone (London)<\/p>\n\n

Revolver Galerie (Buenos Aires, Houston)<\/p>\n\n

Ruzy Gallery (Istanbul)<\/p>\n\n

Sevil Dolmac\u0131 (Istanbul, Dubai, Paris)<\/p>\n\n

Simbart Projects (Istanbul)<\/p>\n\n

SMAC Gallery (Cape Town)<\/p>\n\n

Villa del Arte Galleries (Barcelona, Istanbul)<\/p>\n\n

Vision Art Platform (Istanbul)<\/p>\n\n

x-ist (Istanbul)<\/p>\n\n

Zilberman (Istanbul, Berlin)<\/p>\n\n

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CIF DIALOGUES: The Long and Winding Road<\/h3>\n\n

Organised by the <\/span>Contemporary Istanbul Foundation<\/span>, <\/span>CIF Dialogues<\/span> continues to shape the fair\u2019s intellectual programme with a series of talks bringing together leading figures from the fields of contemporary art, architecture and cultural production. This year, under the title <\/span>\u201cThe Long and Winding Road<\/strong>,\u201d<\/span> the programme will explore the changing dynamics of today\u2019s art world through the historical and cultural interactions between East and West.<\/span><\/p><\/p>\n\n

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Speakers featured in CIF Dialogues taking place on September 23\u201324:<\/p>\n\n

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Kulapat Yantrasast<\/strong> \u2013 Founder and Creative Director of <\/span>WHY Architecture<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Naz Cuguo\u011flu<\/strong> \u2013 Associate Curator at the <\/span>Asian Art Museum<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Akiko Miki<\/strong> \u2013 Director of the <\/span>Naoshima New Museum of Art<\/span> and International Art Director of <\/span>Benesse Art Site Naoshima<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Felix Kwok<\/strong> \u2013 former Head of Modern Art at <\/span>Sotheby\u2019s Asia<\/span>; <\/span>Marc Choi<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Marc Choi<\/strong> \u2013 Contemporary Istanbul Ambassador to South Korea and Collector<\/span><\/p>\n\n

G\u00fclru Arvas<\/strong> \u2013 Architect and Former Co-Chair of <\/span>Tate Young Patrons<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Marc-Olivier Wahler<\/strong> \u2013 Director of the <\/span>Mus\u00e9e d\u2019Art et d\u2019Histoire de Gen\u00e8ve<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Tim Schneider<\/strong> \u2013 Founder of <\/span>The Gray Market<\/span><\/p>\n\n

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CIF BRIDGES<\/h3>\n\n

The digital publishing series CIF Bridges, presented by the Contemporary Istanbul Foundation, extends the dialogue that begins during the fair throughout the year, bringing artists, curators, collectors and cultural professionals together online.<\/p>\n\n

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Broadcast live via the Contemporary Istanbul Instagram account, CIF Bridges has featured international figures including <\/span>Nick Buckley Wood<\/span><\/strong>, Director of Private Sales at <\/span>Sotheby\u2019s Asia<\/span>; <\/span>Felix Kwok<\/span><\/strong>, Chief Creative Officer of <\/span>Shenzhen Design Bay<\/span>; and architect <\/span>Melike Alt\u0131n\u0131\u015f\u0131k<\/span>, Founder of <\/span>Melike Alt\u0131n\u0131\u015f\u0131k<\/strong> Architecture (MAA)<\/span>. The programme is moderated by <\/span>Sarp Kerem Yavuz<\/span><\/strong>, CIF Art Director.<\/span><\/p><\/p>\n\n

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Contemporary Istanbul 21st Edition Dates<\/h3>\n\n

23 September 2026:<\/strong> VIP Preview<\/span><\/p><\/p>\n\n

24\u201327 September 2026:<\/strong> General Admission<\/span><\/p><\/p>\n\n

Venue:<\/span><\/strong> Tersane Istanbul<\/span><\/p><\/p>\n\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Taking place at Tersane Istanbul from 23\u201327 September 2026 with Akbank as its main partner, the 21st edition of Contemporary Istanbul brings together more than 70 galleries from 24 countries. With the number of participating galleries increasing by more than 40% compared to 2025, the fair once again transforms Istanbul into one of the most […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2316,"featured_media":76815,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[4523],"tags":[4457,4745],"class_list":["post-76938","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fairs-and-biennials","tag-contemporary-istanbul-en-2","tag-tersane-istanbul-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/art50.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76938","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/art50.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/art50.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/art50.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2316"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/art50.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76938"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/art50.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76938\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":76939,"href":"https:\/\/art50.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76938\/revisions\/76939"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/art50.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76815"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/art50.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76938"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/art50.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76938"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/art50.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76938"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}