Artist

Did you know the last Ottoman caliph was an accomplished painter?

Abdulmecid II was the caliph during the emergence of the Turkish Republic, before leaving for Europe in 1924. He is represented by dozens of paintings and hundreds of ephemera in a massive undertaking by the Sakip Sabanci Museum.

Palestinian painter draws ballerinas to express Gaza's melancholy

Abeer Jebril, a Palestinian artist, portrays ballerinas in pain to raise awareness of the social and political difficulties of Gaza women amid conflict.

Surprise and disdain as tourists discover Arc de Triomphe wrapped in fabric

Workers in harnesses spent several days enveloping the 50-metre, 19th century arch in a silvery blue, recyclable plastic curtain, in a tribute to late artist Christo.

A self-imposed exile from many countries stops by at the Pera Museum

Etel Adnan, the daughter of a Turkish officer and an Ottoman Greek mother, born in Lebanon with roots in Turkey, France and the US, has a colourful and thorough retrospective at Istanbul’s Pera Museum, called ‘Impossible Homecoming.’

Ai-Da: An ultra-realistic robot artist gets her day in the spotlight

A brainchild of art dealer Aidan Meller of Oxford, UK, Ai-Da is the product of a communal effort and has already sold paintings to people who may possibly be amused by owning art made by a machine.

‘The Journey of Humanity’: World’s largest artwork sells for $62M

The painting by British artist Sacha Jafri holds the Guinness World Record for the largest art canvas and proceeds from its sale are meant to benefit UNICEF, UNESCO, Global Gift Foundation and Dubai Cares.

An artistic ode to Syria, ten years after the war

The Middle East Institute’s latest exhibition features 14 Syrian artists who now live elsewhere and are trying to tackle the fallout of the decade-long civil war through their art.

Robot artist Ai-Da ready for her first art exhibition

Ai-Da, a humanoid AI robot created by Leeds engineers and named after mathematician Ada Lovelace, uses AI algorithms to create art works that comment on the current and future uses of artificial intelligence.

Istanbul Modern shines light on Selma Gurbuz's new exhibition

Istanbul Modern continues to make female artists visible in Turkey. The latest exhibition in the series is a solo show, A Place Called Earth by Selma Gurbuz, whose 35 year career is visualised through thematic stops.

Alexis Gritchenko: A refugee artist in a city under occupation

Previously set to be held between February and May this year, the Alexis Gritchenko exhibition, featuring works between 1919 and 1921, was delayed due to the coronavirus. It will be open from now until November at Istanbul’s Mesher exhibition space.

Will God 'punish us' if we don't make Russian an official language?

Russian interference in Uzbekistan has led for a push to adopt Russian as an official language, but the move is having the opposite effect.

Coronavirus is changing the music industry, as long as musicians survive

The ritualistic music scene has come to a halt. Online shows are trying to change the market dynamics, but its festive aspect of listening to live music is at stake.