The 10^th year of the Elgiz Family’s corporate initiation into the field of contemporary art is being celebrated with the Elgiz 10 Istanbul exhibition and a panel that will include the world’s three most notable women collectors.

Curated by Dr. Necmi Sönmez, the artshow will consist of a selection of pieces from the Elgiz Collection, as well as pieces by Gavin Turk, Burak Bedelier, Lale Delibaş, Nejat Satı and İskender Yediler created specially for this venue. A controversial name in the art world, Gavin Turk will adapt his work Cave, which caused a scandal while the artist was attending the Royal College of Art. Burak Bedenlier will construct a Tower of Babel from ceramics; İskender Yediler will create a sculpture to be hanged from the ceiling; Lale Delibaş’s artwork will be displayed on the floor of the museum, and Nejat Satı’s on the walls. Dr. Sönmez has said that the goal of the exhibition is to put these international contemporary art masterpieces in a different context and create a presentation that will highlight generational differences and cultural interactions. He has stated that he aims for poetic integrity and unity.

The panel will be equally distinguished. Ella Fontanals Cisneros from the USA, Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo from Italy and Basma Al-Sulaiman from Saudi Arabia will join the panel, which will be moderated by Michele Codoni. These, and other people, will discuss their own experiences of being collectors and leading female figures in the art world; how they support contemporary artists in their own country; and their opinions on Turkish art. Ella Fontanals Cisneros is an American born in Cuba and raised in Venezuela, and has been collecting Latin American art since the 1970s, whereas Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, a woman regarded as a developer of international relations, supports artists from all around the world in the city of Torino, in the various areas of the visual arts, music, performance arts and literature. Lastly, Basma Al-Sulaiman, a relative of a very important family in Jeddah, exhibits a collection of work from Saudi Arabian contemporary artists with three-dimensional interactive technology in her virtual museum by the name of “Basmoca.”

Along with these leading female figures in contemporary art, there will be celebrations – occurring simultaneously with the 12^th Istanbul Biennial – which will host guests not only from Turkey, but from around the world as well.

When: 17 September – 17 March

How much: Free