Opening of the New Art Gallery

Only last April, the Istanbul Centre in Brussels (ICiB) opened its doors to make a distinct contribution to Brussels cultural scene. Buoyed by its success so far, the ICiB launched one of the most ambitious projects: the doubling of its existing exhibition space with the inauguration of a New Gallery.

With the participation of the President of the Committee of the Regions Mr. Luc Van Den Brande, Deputy Mayor of Istanbul Mr. Ahmet Selamet, Turkey's ambassador to the EU Mr. Volkan Bozkır and Turkish Ambassador to Belgium Mr. Fuat Tanlay, Management Board Members of ICiB, Turkish and foreigner journalists, civil society organisations and other interested parties, the New Gallery opened with two contemporary art exhibitions on 2 December, 2008:

1950s to 2000: a selection from santralistanbul collection
and
Istanbul Diptychs: Contemporary Visual and Verbal Positions

1950s to 2000: A Selection from the santralistanbul Collection

This brings some of the highlights from the major retrospective of post-war Turkish art first shown to coincide with the Istanbul Biennial in September 2007 at Istanbul’s answer to the Tate Modern – a power station converted by the city’s Bilgi University into an exciting art space.

The exhibition was described as “essential viewing for anyone – and not just students of art – trying to understand the enormous changes of those years”, by local critics, as well as “an electrifying exhibit” in the International Herald Tribune. Subtitled “Modernism and Beyond” it illustrates the impact of globalisation on an artistic community working to establish its own distinctive voice.

Istanbul Diptychs: Contemporary Visual and Verbal Positions

The second exhibition: "Istanbul Diptychs: Contemporary Visual and Verbal Positions", brings together 12 European artists all of whom have been inspired by a city which was once on the edge of a world divided between East and West but which has been brought into the centre of a new Europe.

“Istanbul is examined and questioned in every conceivable way and even when the city is not directly the theme or subject, we can still recognize the city at the heart of the work”, said Beral Madra, curator of the exhibition.

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Culture Inc.

Friends of Istanbul

Istanbul 2010 ECOC Agency