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.
It is a very interesting museum to visit. It includes works by Turkish artists and some others, it has a wonderful gift shop and an even better cafe. I tried them all!! Do not miss them. Don't forget to visit base ment where the ceiling is decorated with books in a very interesting way…
Istanbul Modern is an absolute must see for anybody who might be just a little bit interested in art – and of course for the art lovers under us. The museum provides contemporary art and they change their exhibitions often. The exhibition which they have offer and which I saw is called "Past and Future" and is absolutely breathtaking.
If you have a few days in Istanbul, and have seen your share of mosques, Ottoman art and carpet sellers, then this is a nice diversion. It has a great collection of modern and contemporary Turkish artists. It provides an interesting insight into the cultural changes and modernisation that has occurred in Turkey over the last 100 years.
This museum pulses with modern energy. If you have been impressed with Istanbul history, this will blow you away with today's art scene. It gives you perspective as to how modern Istanbul ticks, artistically.
Loved the art, must visit to enjoy the library full of art books. they had some interesting art and booth with clips playing..
Every year when we visit Istanbul, we pay a visit to Istanbul Modern and everytime we are very pleased. This year was not different. Some of the pieces on exhibition was very interesting.
It's a nice building with powerful air-conditioning and great video installations:) Exhibits are nice but not very special if you are not an expert in modern art. It has no buffet but a very posh restaurant with gorgeous view at the waterfront, but sometimes ocean-liners dock there blocking the view.
This museum has art in several forms. Paintings, mobiles, scuptures, and even video. If art can be said to be entertaining to the masses, then this must be it. The art museum has a very nice full menu, large restaurant on the second level. We combined this with a climb to the Galata tower.