FEATURED BY CONTEMPORARY ISTANBUL My Insights on the Istanbul Art Scene MERVE UNSAL Commercial galleries have sprouted up in Istanbul in the last few years, usually with spaces, agendas, and staff on an institutional scale. A quick provisional count of Istanbul-based art publications reminds me that four are published by galleries, while one is supported by the larger structure of Contemporary Istanbul . Interesting, to say the least, is this desire to fill the different roles, usually reserved for a multiplicity of actors, by the gallery system. In this rapidly changing ecosystem where budgets are not modest by any means, the small-scale not-for-profits or initiatives play an even more important role, providing the content that would otherwise be amiss. And recently, art fairs have also picked up on this and included these organizations in their roster. The most successful rendition so far was at Art International , where thirteen of these ...