İstanbul Modern

Lonely Planet review

In recent years İstanbul's contemporary art scene has boomed. Facilitated by the active cultural philanthropy of the country's industrial dynasties - many of which have built extraordinary arts collections - museum buildings are opening nearly as often as art exhibitions. İstanbul Modern, funded by the Eczcıbaşı family, is the big daddy of them all.

Opened with great fanfare in 2005, this huge converted shipping terminal has a stunning location right on the shores of the Bosphorus at Tophane and is easily accessed by tram from Sultanahmet. The museum's curatorial program is twofold: the first floor highlights the Eczcıbaşı family's collection of Turkish 20th century and contemporary art using a thematic approach; and the downstairs spaces host temporary exhibitions from local and international artists. While the first floor exhibits are interesting - look for works by Şekere Ahmet Ali Paşa (1841-1907), Orhan Peker (1927-1978), İsmet Doğan (1957-), Omer Kaleşi (1932-), Cihat Burak (1915-1994) , İhsan Cemal Karaburçak (1897-1970), Avni Arbaş (1919-2003), Sema Gürbüz (1960-) and Adnan Çoker (1927-) - it's the temporary exhibitions and permanent installations in the downstairs spaces that really stand out. Unfortunately, plans by Museum Director David Elliott to replace the less interesting works in the upstairs exhibit with international acquisitions and to give even greater emphasis to travelling exhibitions were scuttled in 2007 after a disagreement about the museum's future direction with the gallery's main donor, Oya Eczcıbaşı, led to his resignation.

Downstairs, don't miss Richard Wentworth's False Ceiling (1995-2005), an installation of Turkish and Western books floating overhead that hints at important issues around the negotiation of cultural difference. The knockout piece in the permanent collection is probably Adnan Çoker's huge abstract canvas, Retrospective (1997).

The museum also has a dedicated interactive exhibition space for children called Genç (young). Conceived and designed in association with the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, it runs education programs for children aged between six and 12. This is hands-on fun that also bolsters arts awareness - great stuff.