Exhibitions
Uncovered during the 13-year restoration of Zeyrek Çinili Hamam, the Byzantine cistern is home to a site-specific contemporary art program.
The program aims to reinterpret the social role historically associated with hammams through contemporary art. Artists from different geographies are invited to Istanbul for periods of research and production in order to create new works and exhibitions drawing on this multi-layered site’s historical, architectural, cultural, and symbolic context.
The exhibitions approach the hammam as a space for encounter, contemplation, transformation, and collective experiences. Supported by The Marmara Group, the program is free and open to the public.
In addition to temporary exhibitions, Zeyrek Çinili Hamam also houses a permanent contemporary art collection presented throughout the hot and cold rooms and the garden of the hammam complex.
Current
Zeyrek Çinili Hamam presents “Atlas of Encounters”, Brazilian artist Alex Červený's first solo exhibition in Türkiye. Curated by Anlam de Coster, the exhibition brings together over 30 works mapping connections between astronomy, architecture, and the body.
Past
MARGARET R. THOMPSON — TEMENOS: THE INLAND SEA
Temenos: The Inland Sea marks Margaret R. Thompson’s first solo exhibition in Türkiye, conceived for the Byzantine cistern beneath Zeyrek Çinili Hamam and curated by Anlam de Coster.
JULIETTE MINCHIN: WHERE THE RIVER BURNS
Where the River Burns is a site-specific solo show by French artist Juliette Minchin, marking her first presentation in Türkiye. Curated by Anlam de Coster, the exhibition unfolds across the Byzantine cistern, cold rooms and the garden of Zeyrek Çinili Hamam.
ANOUSHA PAYNE: MURMURATIONS
Murmurations, Anousha Payne’s first solo exhibition in Turkey, draws a parallel between collective movements in nature and the invisible narratives embedded in ancient spaces. Developed during her residency in Istanbul and curated by Anlam de Coster, the site-specific exhibition responds intimately to the architecture, material traces, and evocative atmosphere of the newly unearthed Byzantine cistern at Zeyrek Çinili Hamam.
ALEKOS FASSIANOS: SAILING TO BYZANTIUM
This autumn, the 500-year-old Zeyrek Çinili Hamam will host its first exhibition in its recently discovered Byzantine Cistern, featuring unseen works by Alekos Fassianos as part of a solo show curated by Anlam de Coster in collaboration with Alekos Fassianos Museum and Estate.
HEALING RUINS
The function of the artist is very clear: he must open a studio, and repair the world there, in fragments, as it comes to him. Francis Ponge
