Turkey

Turkey counts cost of earthquake repairs

A year after tremors devastated the south of the country, painstaking work begins to restore thousands of damaged monuments

Turkeynews

Istanbul mayor sees culture as ‘locomotive’ in re-election bid

Restoring ancient city’s heritage sites and opening Modern art venues is central to Ekrem İmamoğlu’s campaign

New campaign group to monitor Istanbul Biennial developments following curator row

Turkish artists and curators have organised two forums and raised concerns about participants who pulled out

Kevser Güler named new director of Istanbul Biennial

The decision comes in the aftermath of a controversy surrounding the appointment of the exhibition's curator

Turkey opens new archaeology institute in quake-hit city

Researchers are hopeful the state-of-the-art Turkish Archaeology and Cultural Heritage Institute will enhance international collaboration in the field

Manhattan District Attorney's Office seizes $5m bronze bust in Turkish repatriation sting

The sculpture, which depicts a daughter of Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, is the second out-of-state item to be seized by the Antiquities Trafficking Unit

Bronze Roman statue, believed to have been looted from Turkey, seized from Cleveland Museum of Art

The museum had recently revised public information about the sculpture, likely a depiction of Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, in an apparent attempt to distance itself from its alleged looting

Curator chosen for next Istanbul Biennial was told it is ‘not the right time’ for her to organise the show

Defne Ayas has spoken to the online Turkish newspaper T24 about being rejected in favour of Iwona Blazwick

Art dealer chosen to curate Turkish pavilion at next Venice Biennale resigns

Esra Sarigedik Öktem’s Istanbul gallery represents the artist exhibiting in Venice in 2024

Istanbul Biennial rejected curator recommended by advisory board in favour of Iwona Blazwick

Defne Ayas was unanimously chosen to organise the next edition but was rejected by the foundation that runs the exhibition; Blazwick was selected despite sitting on the biennial advisory board

Iwona Blazwick announced as curator of 18th Istanbul Biennial

The current curatorial lead of Saudi Arabia's Contemporary Art Museum, AlUla, she will now oversee the artistic vision of the Turkish exhibition's 2024 edition

New Istanbul culture hub seeks to make art more public

ArtIstanbul Feshane opens in an expansive 19th-century military factory to reach more of the city’s 16 million inhabitants

Medianews

The Art Newspaper launches Turkish edition

The Art Newspaper Türkiye is owned by Ali Güreli, the founder of Contemporary Istanbul, and will be published 11 times per year

‘We’re not ready’: the race to protect Istanbul’s heritage from another earthquake

Conservators are raising the alarm in the ancient Turkish city as seismologists warn that an earthquake is all but inevitable within the next two decades

Turkish artists fear crackdown after Erdoğan wins election

Artists, filmmakers and other cultural figures have faced intimidation under Turkey's president, who won five more years on Sunday

New Istanbul Modern museum finally unveiled after five-year construction

Major new contemporary art space designed by Renzo Piano opens ahead of key elections

New York court rules against repatriation of ancient artefact to Turkey

A marble idol known as the “Stargazer” will remain in the collection of billionaire Michael Steinhardt

Full scale of damage to Turkish and Syrian heritage emerges after devastating earthquakes

Many archaeological landmarks and religious sites in the region have been heavily damaged or destroyed

Turkey-Syria earthquake: the race to save damaged heritage sites

Plus, Alice Neel's largest UK show and a dazzling turn-of-the-century blanket

Hosted by Ben Luke. Produced by David Clack and Aimee Dawson
Sponsored byChristie's

Here's how you can help the post-earthquake aid effort in Turkey and Syria through art

Art organisations and artists are rallying to provide money for disaster relief in the region

Long-awaited Istanbul Modern museum nears completion

Renzo Piano-designed institution may coincide with this year's Istanbul Biennial

Iron Age rock art depicting ancient Gods discovered beneath Turkish home

The ancient inscriptions were in a hidden tunnel complex found by looters before archaeologists carried out a rescue mission

Turkish cultural activist Osman Kavala sentenced to life in prison

He has been found guilty of attempting to overthrow the government by an Istanbul court

Discovery of Turkish 11,400-year-old village challenges ideas of when and why humans first settled down

Excavations at monumental site Karahan Tepe, near the Turkish-Syrian border, suggest that society was established before the dawn of agriculture

Museumscomment

In returning an ancient gold ewer to Turkey, the UK's Gilbert Trust made the right decision

The Anatolian artefact had been on long-term loan to London's Victoria & Albert Museum, although not on display. Restitution is a complex issue, but in this case it was the right move

Ancient gold ewer returned to Turkey after V&A expert links it to illicit antiquities trade

The piece was part of the Gilbert Collection which is not bound by the same legal restrictions around deaccessioning as the London museum

Cultural activist Osman Kavala remains imprisoned in Turkey without conviction almost four years after his arrest

Turkish authorities behind the legal saga have been criticised by the European Court of Human Rights

Accord between US and Turkey to counter illicit trade in artefacts divides historians and preservationists

Critics say Turkish government polices give short shrift to religious minorities’ cultural heritage

Five Turkish students arrested over LGBTQ-themed work

Exhibition coincided with protests against the government's appointment of Melih Bulu as the new rector of Istanbul’s Bogazici University