Istanbul to organize first of its kind art exhibition

More than 600 artists will participate in the thematic exhibition, Yeditepe Biennial, which will showcase nearly 3,000 artworks under the auspices of the Turkish Presidency between Saturday and May 15 in Istanbul.

Speaking at a news conference on Thursday in Istanbul, Fatih Mayor Mustafa Demir said the event would be the first of its kind.

The unprecedented project would be organized at 30 different historical locations in Istanbul in cooperation with the Fatih Municipality and Classical Turkish Arts Foundation, according to the website.

"Unique artworks of our traditional arts have been shown and still show up at quite different places in quite different forms for centuries without having a 'biennial' title and without being presented in a specific place compared to West," Demir said.

The Yeditepe Biennial aims to present Turkish traditional arts and the new art branches emerging in the country.

The first theme of the biennial is "Ehl-I Hiref", which represents craftsmen/artisans in Ottoman Turkish.

The biennial also has five sub-themes: "Every Aspect of a Flower", "Like a Bird", "About Istanbul", "Flawless Repetition" and "Overflowing From the Places".

Art lovers will witness miniature, gilding, hand carving, marbling, tile art, calligraphy, ceramic article, painting, and sculpture in international exhibitions as a part of the biennial.

Collection exhibitions, live performances, and workshops will also be presented.