NewsMuseums & Heritage
First Hagia Sophia, now Turkey's 'Sistine Chapel of Byzantium' will be turned back into mosque
The 14th-century mosaics at Chora Church—which was converted to a museum in 1945—risk being covered up and remaining part-restored
NewsHagia Sophia
Russia to fund small-scale replica Hagia Sophia in Syria that will be used as a church
Tactical move comes after Turkish president ordered historic Istanbul site to be turned into a mosque
NewsConservation & Preservation
Turkish government on collision course with Unesco over turning Hagia Sophia into mosque
President Erdogan’s plans to convert the museum have drawn fire from Greece and the US
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Istanbul Museum of Painting and Sculpture plagued by delays after top curators quit
Turkey’s national modern art collection, closed off for much of its 80-year existence, will be hard-pressed to open $25m new building this year
NewsBritish Museum
British Museum mistakenly cites ‘all rights reserved’ as biggest postcard producer in Turkey
The error comes as the London institution launches a revamped version of its online catalogue
Newscoronavirus
Virus outbreak delays restoration of Turkey’s Grand Bazaar
The price of gold has also spiked amid scarcity of the precious metal due to the closure of the World Heritage listed market
Newscoronavirus
Turkish government slammed for crowds at heritage sites as ticket collector reportedly dies from coronavirus
Worker at Istanbul's Dolmabahce Palace is believed to have contracted Covid-19, leading state to be criticised for not closing tourist attractions quick enough
NewsImprisoned artists
Kurdish artist Fatos Irwen released from Turkish jail after more than three years
Irwen was sentenced in 2016 on charges that included resisting the police at a protest she attended in 2013
NewsTurkey
Scribbled with a prison pen: detained Turkish designer's drawings go on show in New York
Washington Post design director tweets support for Fevzi Yazici who made the works in solitary confinement at Silivri Prison
NewsTurkey
Court ruling converting Turkish museum to mosque could set precedent for Hagia Sophia
Decision that Kariye Museum must become a Muslim house of worship again could imperil its Byzantine art and have repercussions for other early Christian monuments
NewsContemporary Istanbul
Contemporary Istanbul chairman ‘rethinking fair’s governance’ following ‘inappropriate’ comments over Turkey’s military action
Ali Gureli apologises for accusing foreign media of spreading propaganda, but it is not yet clear if he will step down
NewsClimate Change
Art world impact just 'a drop in the ocean': Istanbul biennial curator takes on climate crisis
Nicolas Bourriaud examines the Anthropocene in 16th edition of the exhibition and says the “real issue is mass tourism"
NewsTurkey
'Game-changer' museum to open in Istanbul in time for city's biennial
Turkish non-profit contemporary art space Arter is relocating to a state-of-the-art exhibition space in Dolapdere district
NewsMonuments
Erdogan says museum and former cathedral Hagia Sophia will become a mosque again
The Turkish president wants the monument to serve as a place of worship flouting international pressure to retain the site’s current neutral status
NewsTurkey
Turkish photojournalist Cagdas Erdogan to stand trial on terrorism charges
The Kurdish freelance photographer is accused of creating propaganda for an outlawed separatist group
News
Major museum designed by V&A Dundee's architects to open in Turkey
Odunpazari Modern Museum designed by Kengo Kuma, which will show the collection of architect Erol Tabanca, will open in the university city of Eskişehir in June
NewsCensorship
Turkish artist Zehra Dogan is released from prison after more than two years
The journalist, accused of spreading propaganda, was backed by Banksy
NewsConservation & Preservation
Turkey's Göbekli Tepe: is this the world’s first architecture?
Scholars say the organisation needed to build the 12,000-year-old temple may mark the beginnings of class society and patriarchy
NewsBanksy
Imprisoned Turkish artist Zehra Dogan smuggles thank-you letter to Banksy
Bristolian street artist unveiled New York mural in March in protest against her arrest
NewsPolitics
Turkish artist Zehra Dogan continues to paint on scrap paper from prison
She was sentenced to jail for "spreading terrorist propaganda" after posting a painting depicting a Kurdish town draped in Turkish flags
NewsBiennials & festivals
Contemporary art biennial returns to Mardin in Turkey after three-year hiatus
Event resumes in the ancient city in the country’s south-east corner after years of tumult
NewsBiennials & festivals
Elmgreen & Dragset bring a bit of Istanbul Biennial to Germany
Curators of this year’s show, with the theme of home and neighbourhoods, show key works at Munich museum
ArchiveMarch 2015
Turkish president appeals ruling that he must pay damages to artist
Mehmet Aksoy's Monument to Humanity was razed by local council after Recep Tayyip Erdogan called it a "monstrosity"
ArchiveRestitution
V&A is willing to lend its fragment to reunite it with the Sidamara Sarcophagus in Istanbul
Turkish tomb could regain long-lost head
ArchiveRestitution
Playing hardball with soft power on restitution claims
Western museums are feeling the pressure over restitution claims from China, Turkey and Cambodia
ArchiveCambodia
Western museums under pressure from China, Turkey, and Cambodia to fulfil restitution claims
The number of artefacts under restitution claims is rising
ArchiveRestitution
Turkey says return objects or forget loans
Roman and Ottoman-era exhibitions will suffer as US and European museums face tougher calls for restitution
ArchiveRestitution
Turkey turns up the heat on foreign museums as list of antiquities demanded gets longer
More exhibitions are hit by the loans boycott as Turkey pushes for restitution
ArchivePublications
Ottoman perspectives
This original and brilliant book describes how Western archaeology and archaeologists appeared to Turkish eyes.
ArchiveRestitution
Met faces claims for Hittite artefacts
Provenance of late trustee’s gifts investigated as Turkey takes tougher line on restitution
ArchiveRestitution
Turkey blocks loans to US and UK in a restitution dispute
Multiple claims for antiquities at New York’s Met, major exhibitions hit at London’s British Museum and Victoria & Albert Museum
ArchiveArtist interview
Interview with Mike Nelson: On the biennale, Turkey, and being “not quite sure what installation is…”
His work at the Venice Biennale has meant rebuilding an installation inside a rebuilt caravanserai within the British Pavilion
ArchiveNovember 2010
US museums receive surfeit of patronage for Islamic art collections
But Arab donors are in scarce supply, while Turks, Iranians and others spend freely
ArchiveIstanbul Biennial
The Istanbul Biennial looks east (Eastern Europe, that is)
The Turkish capital has curators, collectors and galleries—if the government pitches in, it could become the leading destination for contemporary art in the Middle and Near East
ArchiveEnvironment
Government looks to China as Europe suspends funding for Ilisu dam
Authorities fail on environmental and social impact conditions
ArchiveSalvador Dalí
First Dalí exhibition in Turkey
The Sakip Sabanci Museum in Istanbul is holding the first ever retrospective devoted to the surrealist artist Salvador Dalí in a Muslim country
ArchiveRestitution
Turkey claims stele in British Museum
Despite a lack of evidence suggesting that the basalt stele was excavated illegally, the Turkish government are making a bid to regain the artefact
ArchiveRoyal Academy of Arts
Royal Academy and Tate exhibitions heading for top attendance
“Turks: A journey of a thousand years 600-1600” and “Turner, Whistler, Monet” have been wildly successful
ArchiveRestitution
Potential changes to state law could affect claims relating to Armenian massacres
Californian law may make restitution harder
ArchiveAntiquities & Archaeology
Austrian support for the Kurds leads to friction over archaeology
Austrian support for the Kurds leads to friction over archaeology
CommentCultural heritage
Why we should be concerned about President Erdogan turning museums into mosques
Hagia Sophia and the Chora Church will remain “open to all”, Turkish government promises—but restricted access may not be the primary worry
Holger A. Klein