Santralistanbul Is Auctioning Off its Collection

Istanbul is in shock over the news that works of art from the collection of the recently closed Santralistanbul Museum of Contemporary Art are set to hit the auction block in an upcoming sale.

Formerly one of Istanbul’s most celebrated new cultural institutions, the contemporary art museum, which was established in 2007, is administered by the private Istanbul Bilgi University. The news of the sale is causing alarm in Istanbul and beyond and comes after a rather heated period that witnessed the change of ownership at the university.

While initial reports suggested that Istanbul Bilgi University would be auctioning off Santralistanbul’s entire collection, it appears that they will only be selling artworks that were purchased by the institution and not the ones that were donated to the museum.

A group of Istanbul-based activists, who were galvanized by the news, drafted a release and started a petition protesting the sale.-

The auction is scheduled for February 17 at the Sofa Hotel, and it will feature works by a number of prominent Turkish artists, including Nejad Devrim, Selim Turan, Fikret Mualla, Mübin Orhon, Hakkı Anlı, Yüksel Arslan, Nil Yalter, Ayşe Erkmen, Seyhan Topuz, Mehmet Güleryüz, Neşe Erdok, Selma Gürbüz, and Canan Tolon.

Go to the petetition