Relocating the arts in the new Istanbul: urban imaginary as a contested zone

Abstract

Parallel to its reconstitution as a global city, Istanbul has experienced an expansion of the arts through the foundation of new institutions, such as museums and galleries, and the dissemination of art events and exhibitions related to the city. The role of the arts and arts institutions in Istanbul's renewal is central to understanding the relationship between the material and immaterial dynamics of this process. The contemporary art world has both invented new strategies for the city's representation, where issues, such as tourism, consumerism, public space, democracy, and identities, are tightly interwoven, while simultaneously revealing conflicts and contestations. In the hands of contemporary artists and arts professionals, the city's “urban imaginary” has become an analytical vehicle that both exposes the tensions of global dynamics and presents the city as spectacle. Thus, this imaginary also serves to document the forces that affect the arts and the city, and a close study of it can enrich our understanding of the reconditioning process.