Art lovers enjoy international fair in Turkish capital

By Gozde Bayar

ANKARA (AA) – Thousands of art enthusiasts visited an international art fair in the Turkish capital Ankara this week abiding by the COVID-19 measures.

ArtAnkara 7th International Contemporary Art Fair was scheduled to welcome its visitors in ATO Congresium between March 30 and April 3.

However, it opened its doors to art lovers on Monday, March 30, and wrapped up on Friday, April 2, as Turkey goes through weekend curfews due to the increasing number of COVID-19 cases across the country.

The fair hosted painting, sculpture, glass, and installation works of 107 galleries and nearly 1,000 artists this year.

Every visitor was provided with a free face mask at the building entrance and the fairground was regularly disinfected as part of measures against COVID-19.

On Friday, Turkish main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu and Meral Aksener, head of another opposition IYI (Good) Party, visited the fair.

On Wednesday, Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy visited and examined the works at the fair.