ARTANKARA Closes After Five Days of Feast!

 

ARTANKARA International Contemporary Art Fair, which makes the capital the centre of art and is known as one of the biggest fairs in Turkey, has left its 10th year behind.

The capital Ankara once again became the heart of art between 6-10 March 2024. ARTANKARA International Contemporary Art Fair, one of Turkey’s largest and most prestigious art events, held a magnificent feast at ATO Congresium. Overflowing with the interest of art lovers, the fair witnessed unforgettable moments for five days.

This year, ARTANKARA brought together more than 8000 works of over 1600 artists from 45 countries with art lovers. With 152 exhibitors, the fair was not only an art gathering, but also a unique experience coloured by performances, workshops, panels and music concerts. Enriched with over 100 performances, nearly 50 concerts and 33 interviews, the fair provided visitors with the opportunity to explore different aspects of art.

10 Special Awards for the 10th Anniversary

The opening ceremony started with a musical recital by Hungarian artist Dominica Acs and included speeches by Bilgin Aygül, Chairman of the Board of Directors of ARTANKARA International Contemporary Art Fair; David Horvath, Deputy Ambassador of Hungary; Süleyman Dodi Dündar, President of BRHD; Okan Sartaş, President of TÜSGAD; and Bedri Baykam, President of the International Plastic Arts Association and artist.

ARTANKARA’s traditional awards have become a symbol of the fair’s contribution to the arts. This year, the ‘Artist Honour Award’ was presented to Yalçın Gökçebağ, the ‘Institution Honour Award’ to ARTAM and the ‘Contribution to Art Award’ to journalist İsmail Küçükkaya. In addition, a total of 10 awards in different categories were presented for the 10th anniversary. ‘Art Writer Honour Award’ was presented to Derya Yücel and “Collector Honour Award” was presented to Ulaş Değirmenci. ‘Art Museum Honour Award’ was presented to Hacettepe University Painting and Sculpture Museum and “Sister Country Honour Award” was presented to Hungary.

‘Art Project Honour Award’ was presented to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism for the Young / Contemporary Art Painting Competition, “Promising Young Artist Honour Award” to Emine Bostancı, and “Art Media Honour Award” to ArtDog.

International Participation and the Power of Art

The participation of more than 300 foreign artists, together with exhibitors and visitors from 81 provinces of Turkey, showed once again that ARTANKARA will be a sought-after fair in international calendars in the coming years. 

In the fair, where Hungary took place as a sister country, Hungarian artists provided a unique viewing pleasure with their music concerts and live performances. Ankara Painting and Sculpture Museum, Mustafa Ayaz Museum and Imoga Istanbul Graphic Arts Museum also took their places in the fair this year. The works of ‘cornerstone’ artists such as Devrim Erbil, Bedri Baykam, Ertuğrul Ateş, Mustafa Ayaz, Ahmet Nejat, Ergin İnan and Süleyman Saim Tekcan also met with art lovers at the fair.

While the world-famous ArtDoll artist Anya Manya performed live at the fair, Russian artist Alexander Shadrin mesmerised art lovers with his works and workshops. The magnificent exhibition featuring 14 artists from the Ilya Repin Art Academy, which trained the most important artists of the Russian reality, was engraved in the memory as one of the elements of the fair. 

77 thousand art lovers met at ARTANKARA!

ARTANKARA continues to position itself as one of the most important contemporary art fairs in the world with increasing interest every year. 77 thousand art lovers showed great interest in the fair, which has a wide range from the United States of America to Russia, Iran, Mexico and South Korea.

The fair was visited by Hasan Doğan, the President’s Chief of Staff, Batuhan Mumcu, Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mansur Yavaş, Mayor of Ankara Metropolitan Municipality, Hüseyin Can Güner, Çankaya Mayoral Candidate, Yusuf Ziya Selçuk, former Minister of National Education, and more than 40 ambassadors and cultural attachés.

Future Vision

Bilgin Aygül, Chairman of the Board of Directors of ATİS Fuarcılık, the architect of ARTANKARA, evaluated the success of the fair in 10 years and shared their vision for the coming years. Aygül said, ‘We aimed for an international meeting in order to reach and share art with a wider audience. The success we have achieved in 10 years will lead us to bigger projects.’

Drawing attention to the importance of reaching and sharing art to a wider audience, Aygül also announced that ARTANKARA team will organise events such as ‘ArtContact Istanbul 4th International Contemporary Art Fair’, ‘Craft Istanbul 5th International Handicrafts and Design Fair’ and ‘Fresh Ankara 3rd Contemporary Art Exhibition’ in different venues throughout the year. Aygül concluded her speech by thanking BRHD, TÜSGAD, JW Marriot, sponsors and supporters who have contributed to the project since the first day.

ARTANKARA will continue to create a world intertwined with art and inspire the future in the coming years.