Adas Art Space
Since its opening in September 2017, adas, short for “Architecture Design Art Space”, has reconstructed an old building in Seyrantepe with a contemporary approach. Founded by contemporary art collector Ömer Özyürek, adas seeks to provide a place for both solo artists and curatorial exhibitions with a focus on art, design and architecture organised with intention and patience.
Ambidexter
Founded by Ulaş Parkan in 2018 this multifaceted art space exhibits both international and Turkish artists and is currently located in Istanbul’s Balat district.
AVTO
Established in 2017, AVTO is a non-profit research and arts organisation seeking to promote experimental methods, scientific understanding and objective thinking within artistic practice and research-based projects on current and critical issues.
Depo
Since June 2008, the Depo team has been working at Tütün Deposu and the first exhibition was held in January 2009. Spread over four floors, Depo is a cavernous space capable of holding numerous exhibitions at the same time (and often does). Its high ceilings, exposed beams and old wooden floors are set off by large windows through which light floods in. Depo is a space for culture, arts and critical debate in the city centre of Istanbul. Depo focuses on practices that deal with historical and contemporary social issues. Its programme includes exhibitions, screenings, panel discussions, workshops and presentations and it publishes an online journal titled Red Thread. Depo is an initiative of Anadolu Kültür, a not-for-profit organisation working in the field of culture. Since its establishment, Anadolu Kültür has been a driving force in facilitating cross-cultural collaborations and circulating art through Anatolia.
http://www.depoistanbul.net/en/index.asp
Evliyagil Dolapdere
Established as a non-profit art space in Istanbul’s new arts and culture district Dolapdere in early 2019 with an exhibition and project space of two floors and 130 m2, Evliyagil Dolapdere is imagined as a space for group and solo exhibitions of both local and foreign artists. It started its first season with exhibitions and projects curated by Beral Madra; and it aims to host a large variety of art ranging from paintings, sculptures, photographs to installations, performance, and the new media.
http://www.muzeevliyagil.com/en
Fotografevi
Fotografevi was established in 1987. Since that time it has been the centre of the Turkish photographic intelligentsia, and since 2000 it has become more open to international collaborations. Fotografevi is the representative for Magnum Photos in Turkey. Its space is centrally located in Beyoğlu, with a 300-square-metre exhibition space on three floors, and has hosted exhibitions of both well-known names and young talents. Fotografevi has been publishing the prestigious review İz for three years now. The circulation for the review is 12,000. As a publisher, Fotografevi has produced 45 books.
Halka Art Project
Halka Art Project is a self-sustaining art initiative, formed by İpek Çankaya and Sezgi Abalı in May 2011 without depending on any institutional or corporate sponsorship. It focuses on the production, discourse and presentation of contemporary art and culture with interest and commitment to community, environment and education. Halka Art Project is a gathering place, a dialogue and a meeting platform. The Halka Association for Arts and Cultural Research was founded in 2014 in Istanbul with the aim of working towards promoting, fostering and supporting arts, independent art initiatives, and emerging and established artists. Among its missions are to integrate contemporary arts and culture into daily life and make arts accessible for every social and economic group. In the light of Halka Art Project’s vision, the association approaches culture in a broader sense. Thus in order not to be limited only to arts, it also aims to contribute to raising awareness, practising and popularising liveable social infrastructure, permaculture, ecology and sustainability through research, education and various other activities.
http://www.halkaartproject.net/index.php
IFSAK (Istanbul Photography and Cinema Amateurs Club)
IFSAK, being a non-profit and a non-governmental organisation, was founded on November 29, 1959 by a group of amateur photographers under the leadership of Nurettin Erkılıç. The mission of IFSAK is formulated as “teaching, developing and expanding the art of Photography and Cinematography; to establish close relations and cooperation between photographers and cinematographers; creating a cultural and artistic environment where skills can be developed”. The organisation of IFSAK consists of volunteer operating divisions responsible for different fields of activities: training, exhibitions and shows, press and media, cinema, international relations, archives and library, informatics, excursions, festivals.
OJ (Orange Juice) Art Space
OJ is a brand new project space located in Istanbul’s Asmalımescit district, founded by Erdem Çetrez and Mithat Marul in 2017. Besides being a physical space, OJ describes itself as an international network of artists, curators and writers with a shared aim of pushing the limits of contemporary exhibition formats and the post-conceptual potentials in the visual arts. Functioning as a mini-residency for each show, the project can be described as an alternative research centre, or a performance of “inter-happenings”.
Operation Room
Operation Room is the first art gallery located in a hospital in Turkey. The objective of placing the gallery in the American Hospital was to create an unusual space for art lovers and artists to meet. The gallery exhibits the artworks of national and international artists from various disciplines. Operation Room’s programme has been conducted under the directorship of Ilgın Deniz Akseloğlu since November 2014. The artists they invite for each of the four exhibitions held throughout the year have the opportunity to work with creative elements that enable them to develop their projects besides being supported by the staff of American Hospital Corporate Communication Department.
http://www.operation-room.org/index.aspx
PASAJ
PASAJ is an Istanbul-based artist initiative. It is run by two cultural operators, one artist and one curator. At PASAJ, the power belongs completely to the artist. PASAJ hosts socially engaged and participatory art projects by local and international artists. It focuses on the value of the experience. It transforms itself with the support and the creativity of artists and participators. Since 2013, PASAJ has opened its studio in Tarlabaşı – an historical and multi-ethnic neighbourhood in the heart of Istanbul that is going through a complex process of gentrification. Since September 2014, PASAJ has started a temporary project, in which a tiny restaurant located in the Tarlabaşı market street becomes a contemporary art venue named PASAJ Tarlabaşı. Since April 2018, it has been located in a 16-square-meter room in Nimet Han, Karaköy.
Space Debris
Founded by Seyhan Musaoğlu in 2014, Space Debris is a multi-purpose art space working between two platforms: New York and Istanbul. As a hub space for innovative dialogue with a collective soul, the aim is to gain recognition for interactive new media works and interdisciplinary subjects that challenge traditional boundaries.
http://www.spacedebrisart.org/language/en/
Merdiven Art Space
Founded in 2017 in an attempt to support the growing of the creative, independent and non-profit production field free from the commercial concern, Merdiven aims at enabling every kind of contrarian and mindful voice that stands on its own geographic and social ground to be heard.
http://www.merdivenartspace.com
MARSistanbul
MARS was established in 2000 by artist and writer Pınar Öğrenci as an architectural research and restoration office and transitioned in 2010 to MARSistanbul, an artist initiative that serves as a hub for artists from Turkey and abroad to develop exhibition projects. The aim to be a “space for art” was born with the first event hosted by MARS, the spring exhibition of artist Erim Bayri. MARS aims to contribute to Istanbul’s art scene by sharing its space through inviting artists, art critics, curators and art audiences.
NOKS
NOKS (before 2018 NOKS was named TOZ) is run by Volkan Kızıltunç and his wife, Elvan Ekren.
It is a non-profit, artist-run art space initiated in 2015 by a collective of four visual artists – Ece Elder, Elvan Ekren, Sinem Disli and Volkan Kızıltunç – after transforming their studio located in Kadıköy, Istanbul. NOKS provides a collaborative, process-based, informal platform promoting dialogue and exchange through workshops, events, screenings, exhibitions and spatial experiments in the fields of photography and video, particularly on time-based artistic practices, beyond the confines of commercial concerns or limitations.
poşe
Founded in Istanbul’s Moda district on the Asian side by Larissa Araz and Öykü Canlı in 2018, poşe space is conceived with an urge to establish a community. It is an open space for those who feel the need for dialogue and critique. A Turkish word borrowed from French, “poşe” is derived from the verb pocher and means to sketch, to mix, to poach.