On the 20th Anniversary of Contemporary Istanbul, CIF Dialogues 2025 Brings Together Artists, Curators, Architects, Collectors, And Cultural Leaders to Ask:
What happens when cultural, institutional, or geographical coordinates are disrupted?
Can Istanbul offer a unique model for resilience and reinvention?
Will digital art define the next two decades in art and culture?
This year’s program is not only a commemoration, it is an active inquiry into what the next 20 years of artistic practice might look like, locally and globally.
SEPTEMBER 24
13:00 – Opening Keynote Speech
Speaker:
• Jennifer Stockman – President Emeritus, Guggenheim Museum
13:30–14:30 – Panel 1: Making Space for the Public
Speakers:
• Jean Cooney – Director, Times Square Arts; VP of Arts and Culture, Times Square Alliance
• Han Tümertekin – Founder, Tümertekin Architects
• Anlam de Coster – Artistic Director, Zeyrek Çinili Hamam
Moderator:
• Piero Tomassoni – Founder, Artvisor
14:30-15:00 – Panel 2: In Conversation with Marina Abramović (Remote)
Speakers:
• Marina Abramović – Artist
• Stefanie de Regel – Director, TAEX
15:00–15:45 – Panel 3: 50 Years of the Art Car
Speakers:
Thomas Girst – Global Head of Cultural Engagement, BMW
Hakan Tiftik – CEO, Borusan Otomotiv, BMW
Ali Güreli – Founder and Chairperson, Contemporary Istanbul
15:45–16:30 – Panel 4: Outside the Axis: Collecting Beyond the Western Canon
Speakers:
• Pierre Sigg – Collector, Founder of the Sigg Art Foundation
• Pierre-Christian Brochet – Collector, Moscow-based Patron of Russian and Eastern European Contemporary Art
SEPTEMBER 25
13:00–14:00 – Panel 6: The Asia Pivot, Artnet News
Speakers:
• Stefano Rabolli Pansera – Director, Khaoyai Art, Thailand
• Adeline Ooi – Former Director, Art Basel Hong Kong
• Susie Ferrel – Associate Curator of Chinese Art, LACMA
Moderator:
• Vivienne Chow – Journalist and Cultural Critic; Columnist, Artnet News
14:00-15:00 – Panel 5: The Shifting Landscape of Digital Art
Speakers:
• Dimitri Ozerkov – Former Curator, State Hermitage Museum; Chief Curator, PSI Foundation
• Ebru Yetişkin – Sociologist / Curator
• Ulrich Schruath – Artistic Director, UBS Digital Art Museum
Moderator:
• Sarp Kerem Yavuz – Artist, Journalist; Artistic Director, Contemporary Istanbul Foundation.
15:00–15:30 – Panel 8: Residency in Context: Creating in Istanbul’s Living Heritage
Speakers:
• Summer Wheat – American painter
• Aslı Ünal – Arts and Culture Director, Tersane Istanbul
15:30–16:00 – Panel 9: Light, Memory, and the Monumental
Speakers:
• Grimanesa Amorós – Artist
• Alejandra Castro Rioseco – Founder, MIA Art Collection
16:00–16:45 – Panel 10: How to Lead When the Ground Shifts
Speakers:
• Anne Pasternak – Director, Brooklyn Museum
• Ahu Antmen – Director, Sabancı Museum
*There will be no simultaneous translation.
