Founded by Hazer Özil in 2002 in Istanbul’s Nişantaşı district, Dirimart has been instrumental in strengthening Istanbul’s role in the global art world by cultivating long-lasting relationships with prominent international artists. It has successfully introduced internationally acclaimed artists, including Thomas Bayrle, Hermann Nitsch, Shirin Neshat, Bernard Frize, Julian Rosefeldt, Candida Höfer, Franz Ackermann, Peter Zimmermann, Sarah Morris, and Ghada Amer among others to the Turkish art scene.
Dirimart is also strongly committed to promoting established and emerging contemporary artists from Turkey internationally, such as Sarkis, Ayşe Erkmen, Hayal Pozantı, Nasan Tur, Güçlü Öztekin, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Özlem Günyol & Mustafa Kunt, and Ebru Uygun as well as Fahrelnissa Zeid, Âbidin Elderoğlu and Yüksel Arslan who were active in the 20th century.
Dirimart’s first gallery space was located in Nişantaşı, Istanbul’s center for high fashion and entertainment, which has also been populated by art galleries since the 1970s. Dirimart Nişantaşı hosted more than 100 exhibitions between its inauguration in 2002 and its closing at the end of 2018. The gallery has been operating exclusively at its Dolapdere premises since the beginning of 2019.
Inaugurated in May 2016, Dirimart’s second gallery space in Istanbul, Dirimart Dolapdere, is a significant addition to the contemporary art scene in the city. Dolapdere is a rapidly emerging art district within the Beyoğlu periphery, the cultural center of Istanbul. The opening exhibition was curated by Heinz Peter Schwerfel and featured both Turkish and foreign artists—Franz Ackermann, Haluk Akakçe, Ayşe Erkmen, Bernard Frize, Isaac Julien, Sarah Morris, Shirin Neshat, Eva Rothschild, Tomás Saraceno and Ebru Uygun. Designed by architect Markus Dochantschi of Studio MDA, New York, it includes a generous exhibition and office space as well as an outdoor sculpture garden, making it one of the largest galleries in Istanbul.
