Istanbul Modern Museum
The Istanbul Museum of Modern Art, Turkey’s first private museum to organize modern and contemporary art exhibitions, was founded in 2004 and occupies an 8,000 square meter site on the shores of the Bosphorus.
Istanbul Modern Museum is the big daddy of a slew of newish, privately funded art galleries in the city. Its stunning location on the shores of the Bosphorus and its extensive collection of Turkish 20th-century art make it well worth a visit. The icing on the cake is provided by a constantly changing and uniformly excellent program of exhibitions by local and international artists in the exhibition galleries on the ground floor. Istanbul Modern embraces a global vision to collect, preserve, exhibit and document works of modern and contemporary art and make them accessible to art lovers.
As part of its commitment to sharing Turkey’s artistic creativity with wide audiences and promoting its cultural identity in the international art world, Istanbul Modern hosts a broad array of interdisciplinary activities.
Apart from permanent and temporary exhibition galleries, a photography gallery, and spaces for educational and social programs, the museum offers a cinema, restaurant, design store and an extensive library.
There’s also a well-stocked gift shop, a cinema that shows art-house films and a stylish cafe-restaurant with superb views of the Bosphorus.
Istanbul Modern is in a prime location and is easy to get to on foot from Taksim Square (if you are prepared for a longer walk). Entry is 15 TL which is very reasonable for the size of the collection.
You could easily spend 3-4 hours here. The restaurant/bar overlooks the Bosphorus (when there is not a cruise ship parked in front of it !) and is a perfect place to grab a quick lunch or snack. Make sure to check out the museum gift shop great gifts not found in the rest of the city.
Not in the old city, but worth a look as it illustrates through art, the modern crossroads that is Turkish culture. Nice little shop also.
There is some interesting modern art to see at this museum. They also have a cinema where we saw a silent Hitchcock film, accompanies by a live pianist. The film is included in the price of admission. A nice afternoon activity.
However, I was very uncomfortable with the aggressive security presence at the museum. They seem to be very anxious…
We really enjoyed this spacious museum and found the chance to see contemporary Turkish art a welcome change from mosques and antiquities. Also away from the crowds, a peaceful and spacious interior setting for nicely displayed and signed artwork. I was pleased to see a neon sign piece that had been featured in a travel magazine article .
Wonderful and thought provoking art pieces! Great library with artful book display and the restaurant offers lovely views. The "young artists" building was not open the day we went, I would love to have seen what is in there. The grounds are great for kids to burn off some steam, too!
The Istanbul Modern is an extremely interesting gallery that showcases the best of Turkish Modern art. When we were there they had a retrospective from the 1850's to present day: extremely well curated, taking you on a journey through all the phases and influences of modern Turkish art.
We had an extra hour to wander in IST and were very pleased we did so at this great museum. Located in an older industrial type building (reminded me of a smaller Tate Modern) with an superb collection of modern Turkish art. Well worth the visit.
I have now visited the museum twice and am thoroughly impressed by the ever changing exhibitions. Very dynamic style. I think it is a must see in Istanbul.
Strange location – right next to the cruise ship terminal – and we walked past it a couple of times before finding the odd entrance.
The museum looked open (even though it was 7pm) so check the opening hours. I've reviewed the restaurant separately but from the glimpses we got of the artwork it looks worthy of a visit.
The museum is closely located to Istiklal – just take a short cut; very interesting first floor, with mostly Turkish artists, I've spent more than an hour there. A very beautiful view from the restaurant. The guards are quite rough, and unwelcoming.
We went twice – and both times to the excellent restaurant. The museum is really excellent. The views across the Bosphorus are magnificent, though you may not get the benefit. On our second visit one of those vast cruise ships was moored along the water's edge so all we could see was twenty-odd storeys of cabins for 200-odd meters!