President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited Türkiye's first and most comprehensive modern and contemporary art museum, Istanbul Modern, in its new building on Friday.
Erdoğan expressed his delight in being present and extended his best wishes for the new building to be beneficial for Istanbul and all art enthusiasts. He emphasized that Istanbul Modern has now become an international museum, not just a national one. He highlighted the integration of the museum with the Galataport, which adds a distinct richness to Istanbul and Türkiye as a whole.
The museum started welcoming visitors to its new building on May 4.
"The world will get to know Istanbul in a significantly different way through Istanbul Modern," he said, also highlighting the works' impression on a global scale.
Erdoğan emphasized that the reopening of the museum in its new building, which brings the love of art to people of all ages, is a significant gift to the Republic of Turkey on its 100th anniversary. He also highlighted that the museum is an important step in the intellectual revolution.
At the end of his speech, the chair of the board of Istanbul Modern gifted Erdoğan a large photo of the museum taken by prominent architectural photographer Cemal Emden.
