Contemporary Istanbul founder and chairman Ali Güreli plans to launch a new art fair on Istanbul’s Asian side, expanding the city’s exhibition calendar with a platform oriented toward Asia and exchange between regions. He disclosed the plan as the 21st edition of Contemporary Istanbul brought around 70 exhibitors from more than 15 countries to Tersane Istanbul. No date or venue for the proposed fair has been announced in the available details.
A second fair, with no date yet
The proposed event would give Istanbul’s Asian side a new fair, distinct from Contemporary Istanbul’s established gathering on the Golden Horn. The plan matters in a city that spans Europe and Asia: the current edition’s programming included a focus on the Asian art market, while the new fair is intended to develop an Asia-facing, inter-regional emphasis.
Güreli has not specified when the new fair might open, how many galleries it would include, or what its precise format would be. The announcement therefore signals an intention rather than a confirmed addition to a particular year’s calendar. Its eventual scope and timing remain open questions.
The current fair’s international reach
The latest Contemporary Istanbul occupied a 6,000-square-metre site at Tersane Istanbul, a 500-year-old former Ottoman-era shipping yard. Around 70 exhibitors came from more than 15 countries, and 22 galleries were making their debut at the fair. The edition’s scale and mix provide a concrete backdrop to Güreli’s plans for further expansion.
Its Asian focus brought galleries including Pearl Lam Projects from Hong Kong, Whitestone Gallery from Tokyo and Seoul, Method Gallery from New Delhi, and Silk Art House Gallery from Singapore. The fair also included a dedicated space for Dialogues programming, with conversations on the Asian market. That existing regional emphasis offers a point of connection with the proposed event, though the two fairs’ future relationship has not been detailed.
A city-wide calendar in the making
Contemporary Istanbul has already announced that it will return to Tersane Istanbul in 2027, in the same week as the 19th Istanbul Biennial. Together, that confirmed return and the proposed Asian-side fair point to a calendar that could span more of the city’s geography, rather than concentrating activity at a single venue.
The planned fair would also add to a wider mix of exhibitions and events in Istanbul, but the announcement does not identify other dates or participants for it. The current edition illustrates the kinds of international connections a new event might build on: alongside Asian galleries, its exhibitors included Jessica Silverman Gallery from San Francisco, Galeria Karla Osorio from São Paulo, and Paris galleries Galerie Georges-Philippe & Nathalie Vallois and Galerie La La Lande.
Expansion alongside sector concerns
Güreli’s plans come as Contemporary Istanbul seeks to strengthen the conditions for collecting as well as expand its event programme. The organisation is in discussions with Türkiye’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism about art-tax reform, with the aim of encouraging corporate collecting. He pointed to Italy’s recent reduction of tax on art acquisitions to 5% as a model; the material does not indicate that a comparable change has been agreed in Türkiye.
For galleries, the fair’s physical setting can also shape the value of participation. This edition’s 6,000-square-metre layout placed its two adjacent halls on one floor, while a separate venue hosted Dialogues. Local exhibitor OG Gallery’s owner, Senem Özgören, described the event as a chance to meet nearby colleagues and form international connections. Those details show the established fair’s role as a meeting point, even as its founder considers another location.
What remains to be confirmed
The Asian-side proposal has no published opening date, named venue, exhibitor list or confirmed programme in the supplied information. Those omissions matter: without them, the plan cannot yet be placed alongside the fixed 2027 return to Tersane Istanbul or the 19th Istanbul Biennial as a scheduled event.
For now, the clearest indication of the new fair’s direction is the emphasis on Asia and inter-regional exchange, set against a current edition that hosted galleries from more than 15 countries and gave Asian-market discussion a dedicated place. The next concrete milestone will be further detail from Contemporary Istanbul on timing and location.
Takeaway: Güreli’s proposed Asian-side fair could broaden Istanbul’s exhibition geography, but its date, venue and format remain unannounced.
Sources
- galeriemagazine.com — “Discover the Most Captivating Installations from Istanbul Art Week 2022 – Galerie Magazine”
- tr.linkedin.com — “Contemporary Istanbul”
- Art Basel — “Creativity amid crisis in Istanbul”
- artforum.com — “Hong Kong Art Week 2026: Art Basel Hong Kong, M+, and Tai Kwun”
- artandantiquesmag.com — “Istanbul Goes International – Art & Antiques Magazine”
