CI BLOOM

“Since the middle of last year, the contemporary art market has been growing and expanding. This trend is observed all around the world and is continuing now. Despite high inflation around the world and in Turkey and other crises, we expect the art market will keep growing. Our participating galleries are bringing in new young artists and more and more young galleries are entering the market, while we see more collectors interested in buying art. The sales at CI Bloom reached 84%. We are very pleased with this rate, it’s a success of the entire Contemporary Istanbul team.”—Ali Gureli, Chairman of Contemporary Istanbul 

Reflecting Istanbul’s growing role as a global cultural powerhouse, CI Bloom showcased the country’s top contemporary art galleries and works by many remarkable Turkish and international artists, both established and emerging ones. The following galleries took part in the fair: Ambidexter (Istanbul), Anna Laudel (Istanbul, Dusseldorf), Art On Istanbul (Istanbul), artSümer (Istanbul), Bozlu Art Project (Istanbul), BüroSarigedik (Istanbul), C.A.M. Galeri (Istanbul), Dirimart (Istanbul), Ferda Art Platform (Istanbul), Galeri 77 (Istanbul), MERKUR (Istanbul), Galeri Siyah Beyaz (Istanbul, Ankara), Galerist  (Istanbul), Martch Art Project (Istanbul), Öktem Aykut (Istanbul), Pg Art Gallery (Istanbul), Pi Artworks (Istanbul, Londra), Piramid Sanat (Istanbul), Sanatorium (Istanbul), The Pill (Istanbul), Vision Art Platform (Istanbul), x-ist (Istanbul), Zilberman Gallery (Istanbul, Berlin).

Several large-scale artworks were shown on the shores of the Golden Horn in front of the historic facades of Tersane. Akbank Sanat has exhibited Topkapi, a work by Jannis Kounellis, one of the most important artists of the 20th century and one of the founders of Arte Povera.

The fair was accompanied by concerts and live DJ sets by Ilhan Ersahin, Ferit Odman Quintet, Zeynep Erbay, Canan Soylu, Uninvited Jazz Band, Sedef Gali, and Cem O.

Digital Horizons: The New State of the Art

One of CI Bloom’s main objectives is to get people more familiar with digital art and emerging forms of collecting. Therefore, special attention was devoted to the topic of NFT. A two-day event brought together Turkish and international experts and collectors who talked about the legal, financial, and cultural aspects of NFTs.

Curated by MoCDA (Museum of Contemporary Digital Art) and creatively directed by ha:ar, Digital Horizons: The New State of the Art exhibition featured 20 NFTs selected in collaboration with international art collectors. Reflecting the state of contemporary digital art, the show looked at the pivotal roles played by Collectibles and Fine Art NFTs in understanding and popularization of digital art collecting. Visitors could see works by Beeple, XCopy, PAK, Damien Hirst, Sofia Crespo, Larva Labs, Mario Klingemann, and BayC. The exhibition was supported by Paribu and LG OLED.

CIF Artist in Residence program 

During CI Bloom the Contemporary Istanbul Foundation has announced the launch of an artist-in-residence program in collaboration with Tosyali Holding. Focused on the topic of upcycling, the program will last for four months, with artists using waste metals provided by Tosyali Holding. Artists participating in the CIF Artist in Residence Programme are Chiara de Rocchi, Emrullah Orunklu, Koray Tokdemir, Neriman Ulker, and Songul Girgin.

CI Bloom has been organized by Contemporary Istanbul. The main partner of the event is Akbank and venue partner is Tersane Istanbul.

The 17th edition of Contemporary Istanbul will take place in Tersane Istanbul September 19-22, 2022, with preview days on September 16-18. The main partner is Akbank.