An Art Lover's Guide to Izmir, Turkey

Exhibiting the personal collection of businessman and art enthusiast Lucien Arkas, Arkas Art Center is beautiful inside and out. Located in the former French Consulate, a neoclassical beauty with a great sea view, the 10 different rooms on two floors have displayed various genres from the Arkas Collection, including the Luminists, Ottoman and French cartography, Ottoman carpets, and Post-Impressionists (to name a few).

Arkas Art Center, 1380 Sokak No:1 Alsancak, Izmir, Turkey, +90 232 464 66 00

Courtesy of Arkas Art Center

This non-profit organization not only hosts national and international exhibition projects but also organizes lectures, seminars, performances, and screenings as well as having a studio for guest artists. Certainly the most contemporary of Izmir’s galleries, K2 is a sustainable contemporary art venue that focuses on both up-and-coming artists as well as the more established names.

K2 Güncel Sanat Merkezi, Cumhuriyet Blv. No: 54 Büyük Kardiçalı Han Kat:2, Konak/Izmir, Turkey, +90 232 445 31 51

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A truly striking architectural addition to Izmir’s urban landscape, the Ahmed Adnan Saygun Arts Center is known for the excellent acoustics in their classic music concert hall. However, the center also hosts the Alt Galeri, a large art gallery that focuses on plastic and contemporary art forms. Culture Trip recommends you visit the art gallery and then stay for a great concert.

This great art gallery was established in 1998 to bring the best of plastic arts to Izmir art lovers. Since then, the Art Shop Sanat Galerisi has also hosted painting and sculpture shows, for a total of 200 engaging exhibitions since its opening.

Seba Uğurtan, an art teacher with 20 years of experience and the acting general director of the Izmir Art Biennial, runs one of Izmir’s most interactive galleries. At Seba, you’ll find intensive art workshops as well as beautiful exhibitions from local artists.

Named after the Greek philosopher Diogenes, who was also one of the founders of the Cynic philosophy, Galeri Diogenes focuses exclusively on photography. The gallery, which opened in 2014, has been exhibiting both young talents as well as the more established names from the local and international photography scene.

Galeri Diogenes, Alsancak Kıbrıs Şehitleri Cad. 1485 Sokak N0o 8-A Konak/Izmir, Turkey, +90 232 404 40 46

Located inside a beautiful old Izmir home, this museum and art gallery, established by businessman Selçuk Yaşar in 1985, is one of the first private art museums in Turkey. The space displays the private Yaşar Collection, including the winners of the DYO art competition, which has awarded around 196 international artworks since its inception in 1967.