The modern and conteporary art fair is set to coincide with the city’s international biennial next year. ArtInternational Istanbul (VIP preview 14 September, 15-17 September 2013) will take place in the Hasköy Yarn Factory in the central Beyoglu district.
The fair will compete with Istanbul Contemporary, which opens its seventh edition next month (22-25 November) at the Istanbul Convention and Exhibition Centre.
The director of the fair, Dyala Nusseibeh, says: “We are responding to an increasing demand from conversations with galleries worldwide and from within Turkey’s burgeoning arts community. Some of these galleries have existing Turkish clients, others wish to connect with Turkish collectors, many of whom have become increasingly present at international art fairs.”
The fair’s cultural board is chaired by Egemen Bagis, Turkey’s minister for EU affairs, and includes the curator Jack Persekian, Cigdem Simavi, who established the Foundation for Fine Arts and Cultural Heritage, Leyla Tara Suyabatmaz, the co-founder of Rampa Gallery, Istanbul, and the writer and curator Rose Issa, whose project space in London focuses on art from the Arab world and Iran. The co-founder of ArtInternational Istanbul is the fair veteran Sandy Angusngus who co-founded Art HK, the Hong Kong International Art Fair, along with Tim Etchells in 2008.
www.istanbulartinternational.com
