Modern art thrives in historic Istanbul

HISTORY and culture buffs are drawn to Istanbul for its breathtaking ancientness, as the former capital of three empires – Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman. Located at the crossroads where Europe meets Asia, it has centuries-old churches and mosques within steps of each other, and colourful markets one can spend days exploring.

Yet amid such rich historical opulence stands the new Istanbul Museum, a temple of modernism that houses a spectacular collection of contemporary art featuring the works of top Turkish and international stars. In Friday’s (Jun 2) edition of BT Lifestyle, we visit Istanbul – a magnet for the art lover, especially with notable institutions such as Salt Galata, Borusan Contemporary and Pera Museum, and commercial galleries such as Galeri Nev and Zilberman. After 20 years under the iron-fisted rule of its newly re-elected president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, we look at how Istanbul’s modern art scene has thrived despite the country’s political and economic conditions.

For perfume lovers, get a peek into how scents are created as we chat with Hermes’ “nose”, Christine Nagel. And if you think perfumes are a woman’s passion, men get it too, and we bring you the lowdown on scents for the opposite sex. In Arts, the Singapore International Festival of the Arts continues its run, and we check out the shows from its second week. Meanwhile, watch lovers have more new timepieces to pick from, and in Dining, the new Foliage features a husband-and-wife chef couple whose interpretation of Singaporean food is a love letter to their heritage. Get the latest in F&B happenings and more in this Friday’s issue of BT.