Türkiye’s first modern and contemporary art museum, Istanbul Modern, shares the country’s artistic accumulation on a global scale and transferring it to the future, while bringing artworks from different geographies together in Istanbul. Aspiring to make art accessible to the general public, Istanbul Modern provides educational programs to art enthusiasts of all ages. Through its collections, exhibitions, and educational programs, the museum aims to instill a love of the arts in all visitors and encourage their active participation in the arts. 

The new building of Istanbul Modern is designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW), founded by Renzo Piano, the architect of iconic museums and arts & culture institutions around the world. The new building, which is Renzo Piano's first project in Türkiye, has been planned on a visitor-oriented basis to enable all kinds of cultural, artistic and educational activities with its orientation to provide a cultural living space for Istanbul. 

The new building of Istanbul Modern, whose opening ceremony will take place at a later date, has built with the joint contribution of the museum's founding sponsor Eczacıbaşı Group & main sponsors Doğuş Group and Bilgili Holding. 

The five-storey museum building, which hosts exhibitions and programs with its 10,500 square meters area, contains large exhibition halls, multi-purpose spaces, offices, areas for education and different cultural events and other activities. 

Inspired by the glittering waters of the Bosphorus, the building, with its façade made with 3-D-formed aluminum panels creates plays of light and shadow with the changing sunlight and reflections of the water during the day. 

The ground floor, which was designed to enter admission free in order to create more space for visitors, contains the museum's library, a cafe, gift shop as well as education, exhibition and event spaces. On the first floor, galleries dedicated to photography sit alongside pop-up exhibitions, staff offices, a restaurant, terraces and additional event and education rooms. Istanbul Modern’s restaurant is also located on this floor and offers spectacular views of the Bosphorus and Historical Peninsula from an outdoor terrace. The second floor houses the museum’s collection and temporary exhibition gallery. 

You can visit istanbulmodern.org for information about new exhibitions and visiting hours. Photos: Cemal Emden