Burgeoning art scene in Istanbul despite little state funding

Tahira Yaqoob

“For me,” wrote Orhan Pamuk of his beloved Istanbul, “it has always been a city of ruins and of end-of-empire melancholy.”

But huzun, the Arabic-derived Turkish word used by the Nobel-prizewinning novelist to describe that sense of spiritual loss and longing, could be the key to the city’s rebirth.

Istanbul’s contemporary art scene is enjoying a moment, thanks to a rash of art fairs, dozens of exhibition spaces funded by the corporate sector and private investors and newfound recognition for Turkish artists overseas.

Yet while its reputation is being built on the fresh perspectives of its artists, poised at the crossroads of East and West, it is Istanbul’s legacy as the stronghold of one of the world’s greatest historical superpowers which is set to buoy the art market.

Since the Ottoman Empire first tumbled into ruin in the 19th century, and with it crumbled its stature as an international seat of art and culture, Turkish artists have looked to the West with students dispatched to Europe to learn their trade.

via Burgeoning art scene in Istanbul despite little state funding – The National.

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