Thousands of artworks on display in Ankara

ANKARA

The third international ArtAnkara Contemporary Art Fair is set to be held between March 16 and 19 at the ATO Congresium Congress and Exhibition Hall in Turkey’s capital Ankara, featuring artworks by 600 artists from around the world. 

The fair, covering an area of 10,000 square meters, will showcase the newest works of Turkish and international contemporary art to visitors. 

The number of international guests attending the fair has been increasing every year, as it becomes a platform for art curators to exchange ideas. This year, the fair will host artists from countries including Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, South Korea, France, Switzerland, Italy, the U.K., Iran, Georgia, Russia, Philippines, Lichtenstein, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine and Greece. 

Fifty galleries, more than 100 organizations, museums, universities and 600 artists will be the guests of the fair, as well as 2,000 artifacts ranging from photography to sculpture will be on display. The fair will also host talks and signature events. 

Speaking to state-run Anadolu Agency, the project coordinator, Liudmila Capsamun, said Davide Frisoni, Roberta Coni and Hale Karaçelik would be at the Italian Neo Art Gallery stall and Claudia Schmidt’s world famous artworks would be seen at the Gallery Schdimt stall. 

Prominent names from South Korea, including Yong-Moon Kim, Chang-Yeol Kang, Donha Lee, Won-Suk Choi, Sang-Chul Won, Hae-Soo Park, Jung-Dae Kim and Tae-Jong Kim will be at the AB Gallery stand. 

“The Art Iberia Georgia stand will display works by Nick Japaridze, David Popiashvili and Levan Urushadze. Aspect Gallery will show Bulgarian Iliya Zhelev’s works. Russian artists Andrey Kovalevsky, Vasily Kudrin, Galia Kushkumbaeva and Feodor Leonid will also be at the fair,” Capsamun said.

As a part of the Solo Show event, special exhibitions will present works by artists Bubi, Devrim Erbil, Ergin İnan, Ertuğrul Ateş and Nikolay Yanakiev, she added. 

‘Art Goes to Work’  

Determined by painter Ertuğrul Ateş, this year, the sub-theme of the fair is “Art Goes to Work.” The results of the collaboration of the business world and art will be seen under this headline. 

An exhibition titled “Soyunuyoruz” (We are undressing) will also be on display, aiming to raise awareness of mine workers. Curated by Hacettepe University Fine Arts Faculty Ceramic Department academic Füsun Kavalcı, the exhibition has been inspired by mine workers’ changing rooms, where plastic buckets drop from ceilings. Works by 19 young artists are on display in the exhibition. 

Two aluminum companies, ASAŞ and FARPLAS, are also taking part in the fair with artworks created by using waste materials and aluminum.  

Another aim of ArtAnkara is to support art education. In order to support art initiatives and cultural diversity as an informal community of young artists, installations, video art projects and others will be exposed in the fair section of “Initiatives.” 

The fair will also carry out social responsibility projects for students who study on scholarships and the ones with special needs. 

A non-profit organization, the Koridoor Contemporary Art Programs, which produces cultural and artistic projects, will be in Ankara for the first time. 

The organization, which was established in 2007 in London, aims to improve dialogue between the east and the west via art. 

Besides academic researches and joint studies, the organization organizes fairs, exhibitions, talks and education projects in different parts of the world. It will take part in ArtAnkara with the title “10 Countries – 10 Artists.” 

Organized by Atis Fair Management, ArtAnkara is supported by the Association of Art Galleries (TÜSGAD) and the United Painters and Sculptors Association (BRHD).