You can discover the finest museums in Istanbul if you are searching for palace or mosque museums, as well as those connected to history, classic painters, current, fine and modern art, photography, or temporary and permanent exhibits. Despite the fact that the city has numerous themed museums, we will concentrate on the modern and contemporary museums in Istanbul for this blog article. However, you may look at other attractions on our website! 

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Istanbul Modern

Istanbul Modern, commonly known as the Istanbul Museum of Modern Art, is Turkey’s first private museum dedicated to modern and contemporary art exhibits. One of Istanbul’s best museums, particularly for fans of contemporary art. The museum opened in 2004 in Karakoy, near the Bosphorus, on an 8,000-square-meter property. The museum has lately emerged as Turkey’s most popular and prestigious contemporary art museum. 

Istanbul Modern has relocated to its temporary location in Beyoglu (from 2018 for three years) and will continue to host all exhibits and activities until the completion of its permanent structure in Karakoy in 2021. There are permanent and temporary exhibits ranging from the early twentieth century to the current day, as well as a photographic gallery and various spaces for educational and social activities. Among the finest works are abstract art, landscape paintings, and watercolors. 

The Arter Museum 

Arter has been collecting and caring for modern works of art, as well as promoting and supporting the creation of new ones, since 2007. It is also one of the finest locations to see art in Istanbul. The Arter Collection appreciates and welcomes new ideas, discourses, and trends in contemporary art, as well as unconventional forms. While the Collection is worldwide in scope, it focuses on creative and cultural development in Istanbul and the surrounding region, with the goal of examining similarities and contrasts between the styles, remarks, and contents created in Turkey and abroad. The Arter Collection, which originates from the 1960s and comprises works in a wide range of mediums such as painting, sculpture, photography, video and film, installation, sound, light, and performance, brings together many current expressions, roles, and practices. Arter is a fantastic Istanbul cultural district for art lovers. 

Pera Museum

Pera Museum is a private museum established in 2005 by the Suna and Inan Kirac Foundation. The museum is housed in a magnificent historical structure in Tepebasi, near Taksim, that was initially intended as the Bristol Hotel. The museum provides tourists with high-quality culture and art services such as paintings, tiles, and pottery. The museum also collaborated with leading international museums in Istanbul, collections, and foundations to exhibit works by Jean Dubuffet, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Rembrandt, Niko Pirosmani, Josef Koudelka, Joan Miró, Akira Kurosawa, Marc Chagall, Pablo Picasso, Fernando Botero, Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and Goya. 

Dogancay Museum

The Dogançay Museum, Turkey’s first museum of modern art, initially welcomed visitors in 2004. It is located in Beyoglu Istanbul and provides a broad overview of a tiny part of Burhan Dogancay‘s prolific work as one of Turkey’s top painters. This mini-retrospective follows Dogancay’s artistic evolution over five decades, beginning with his early figurative paintings and progressing to his wall-inspired works and portraits. Adil Dogancay’s work is on exhibit at one of the museum venues in Istanbul.