The Milli Re Art Gallery was founded in 1994, opening its doors for the first time in October of that year at Milli Reasürans headquarters in Teşvikiye, Nişantaşı. In 2019, the gallery celebrated its 25th year.
The Milli Re headquarters office is the realization of an award winning project chosen by competition, designed by architects Hadi and Sevinç Sandor. The building is registered by the Council of Monuments. In this project, the art gallery was exceptionally designed to serve as an area to serve art and is specifically preferred by artists in the field to house their exhibits.
Reaching a distinguished level in art, a segment in which the capital infrastructure has not yet been institutionalized, and to maintain this level seamlessly in excess of 25 years in a country like Turkey, with its own social and economic ups and downs, requires devotion. Achieving this in what could be considered an area which is extension of social responsibility, is quite a difficult and praiseworthy feat for an institution.
Over the past 26 years, the Milli Re Art Gallery performed at an impressive pace, offering more than 160 exhibits in Istanbul, complemented by other domestic and international exhibits.
Among the factors distinguishing Milli Re Art Gallery from other galleries, in addition to the quality of its exhibits, is that it has established an opportunity to create a registry of written and visual memory of art through an extensive collection of books and catalogues. This is a particularly noteworthy characteristic which is worthy of special emphasis.
Indeed, along with our institution, the artists who are the major architects of this achievement also deserve exceptional praise and recognition as the joint owners of this effort. In enduring relationships, parties craft success together as common stakeholders working towards a shared purpose. Thus, Milli Re Art Gallery is always grateful to our devoted and valued artists for their exceptional cooperation.
Since 1994, our gallery has hosted very distinguished artists both from Turkey and from many other countries. Today, a new generation of our artists who have developed over the past 25 years express that Milli Re Art Gallery is always supportive of art education and actively creates a climate for arts. They state that in Turkey, Milli Re has been fulfilling the function undertaken by museums and institutions which typically bear this responsibility in other developed countries, and that they have cultivated their artistic background by viewing exhibits at our gallery, as it serves to foster them as artists.
If we browse through the impressive list of artists of the nearly 170 exhibits hosted by our gallery thus far, we find that we have welcomed very significant Turkish artists who have built Turkey's art reservoir in the post-Republican period; as well as exhibits of international recognition not limited to the field of paint, but also including architecture, photography and documentaries.