Page 47 - Reside Magazine Briggs Freeman
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commercial galleries Dirimart and Öktem Aykut. Further along is Galerist,
a space dedicated to contemporary Turkish artists.
“There is a vibrant cultural ecosystem in Beyoğlu that continuously
adapts and evolves,” says Ümit Mesci, a curator at Istanbul Modern, the city’s
f lagship contemporary art institution. The museum temporarily hosted
exhibitions in the Union Française while its new Renzo Piano-designed building
was under construction on the Karaköy waterfront. Here, the Galataport
cruise terminal, which opened in 2021, is home to more restaurants and
retailers, including the f lagship store of Siedrés, an Istanbul-founded
luxury clothing brand. “The museum’s reopening two years ago is part
of a broader revival, reflecting a community that embraces change, while
respecting its rich heritage,” Mesci says.
The arts have long been a key part of Beyoğlu’s identity, from the opera
houses, theaters and concert hallswhere Istanbulites first saw Western music
performed in the 1800s to the cabarets and nightclubs of the Jazz Age. Not
forgetting the mid-century heyday of the Yeşilçam film industry, Turkey’s
answer to Hollywood.
Above: Michelin-listed meze restaurant Turkish TV and movie crews can often still be found filming scenes on
Aheste serves big avors on small plates
character-filled streets. On Serdar-ı Ekrem Caddesi in Galata, the bold
Top: The work of Turkish video yellow Italianate Doğan Apartment, constructed in 1894 for a Belgian
artist Ali Kazma at Istanbul Modern
Photography Gallery banking family, presides over an ever-shifting array of shops, cafes, offices
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