This year, to mark its 50th anniversary, the Istanbul Art and Culture Foundation (IKSV) held a very special event to support the productions of young artists and reinforce the foundation’s endeavors to enrich the cultural and artistic life of Turkey. The gala was supported by the participation of companies from many fields, including BBVA.

Garanti BBVA, together with BBVA Switzerland, has been supporting the foundation for more than 25 years with the aim of promoting the value of culture as a public asset to face the great challenges of our time. IKSV’s 50th Anniversary gala, sponsored by the Four Seasons Hotel Istanbul on the Bosphorus, counted on valuable contributions from Pernod Ricard Turkey, the famous auction house Christie’s, dDf and Mey|Diageo.

We want to support new artistic productions in solidarity with different stakeholders.

İKSV Chairman Bülent Eczacıbaşı expressed his satisfaction in the speech, “It has been 50 years since İKSV, which started its activities in 1972 by realizing a dream founded by Nejat Eczacıbaşı, organized the first Istanbul Festival. As İKSV, we have left important footprints in the last fifty years of Turkey’s cultural and artistic life. Our aim now is to leave our mark on the future of culture and arts as well. Like this evening, we want to support new artistic productions in solidarity with different stakeholders. Youth is also one of our goals. We place great importance on young people dreaming, developing, enriching their world and, to this end, participating in cultural life. We know a society nurtured by culture and arts is also a happy society. To achieve a colorful and polyphonic Turkey with strong international ties, a Turkey that nurtures and inspires hope for the future, a Turkey that makes a name for itself with its productivity and creativity, cultural institutions have very important duties. Our strongest resource in this regard is the youth”. 

The pleasure is ours!