Article by Alena Sokhan // Nov. 12, 2014
Contemporary Istanbul (CI) is a major international art fair that takes place annually in Istanbul each November, bringing to the city artists from around the world and offering its rich art culture to visitors and residents alike. With 108 galleries and 520 artists from 23 countries, this art fair exploits the reality of our globalized world to consider our possibilities and hopes for the future through art. The New Horizons segment of the art fair showcases a different geographic area annually, with this year’s focus turned towards contemporary Chinese art. Returning for the second year, running parallel to CI is the Plug-In New Media Section, which is a huge space devoted to digital art. With the focus this year being on sound based works, Plug-In gathers many artists who explore the possibilities of technology through digital art and design, sound and light installations, interactive and generative design, indoor mapping projects and robotic designs, among many other uncategorizable works.
Contemporary Istanbul, 2013, installation view, photo courtesy of Contemporary Istanbul
Sait Zaimkeles, “anatolia has an owner/the last Haitian” (2012), oil on canvas, photo courtesy of Contemporary Istanbul
CI will be held this year from Nov. 13-16, 2014 at Istanbul Congress Center (ICC) and Istanbul Convention and Exhibition Centre (ICEC). In addition to the exhibitions, there will be discussions, talks, and lectures as part of the CI Dialogues program, under the theme ‘The Other Art: Alternatives. Choices. Options’.
