ISTANBUL.- Türkiye’s first modern and contemporary art museum, Istanbul Modern, is celebrating its 20th anniversary in its new building designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop. Since opening its doors on December 11, 2004, the museum has hosted 10 million visitors and provided free art education to 1 million children and young people. Istanbul Modern has sought to create a multifaceted museum experience through the museum collection and 160 exhibitions held in four different galleries and abroad.
Istanbul Modern’s new building was inspired by its unique location at the intersection of the Bosphorus and Golden Horn. Renzo Piano describes the museum as a sea creature rising from the sea into the air, where it remains suspended. A one-of-a-kind viewing terrace at the top of the building hovers above a shallow reflection pool covering the entire roof, transforms the Istanbul landscape into an intangible architectural component, offering a metaphysical experience to museum visitors. With 10,500 square meters of public space, Istanbul Modern broadens its scope through educational and social projects, film programs, performances, and interdisciplinary activities within the museum library, cinema, shop, designated rooms, and common spaces.
On December 8, 2024, Istanbul Modern received the CIMAM Outstanding Museum Practice Award for its educational program titled “Following a Dream,” which supports gender equality by encouraging teenage girls to discover their own creativity through the experiences and artworks of women artists. The museum building itself has also won several awards, including ArchDaily’s “Building of the Year” in the Cultural Architecture category, Architecture MasterPrize in the Cultural Architecture category, and the winner of the Completed Buildings—Culture category at the 2024 World Architecture Festival in Singapore, and featured in Architectural Digest’s “Works of Wonder 2024.”
Exhibitions in 2025
Olafur Eliasson: Your unexpected encounter
Until February 9, 2025
Temporary Exhibition Gallery
Ömer Uluç Retrospective
March 19–November 23, 2025
Temporary Exhibition Gallery
Chiharu Shiota: Between Worlds
Until April 20, 2025
Pop-Up Gallery
İzzet Keribar: Journey of Colors
Until May 25, 2025
Photography Gallery
Ali Kazma
June–December 2025
Photography Gallery
Collection Exhibition: Floating Islands
Until July 2025
Permanent Exhibition Gallery
Renzo Piano: Genius Loci
Until December 2025
Istanbul Modern Library
