Landscape Selection: Naile Akıncı
A selection exhibition featuring Naile Akıncı’s paintings with Eyüp and Bosphorus themes, which are part of the most comprehensive collection donation in the history of the Istanbul Museum of Painting and Sculpture (IMPS)—Turkey’s first and largest plastic arts museum—has been prepared. Prepared within the scope of the 144th foundation anniversary of Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, the Landscape Selection: Naile Akıncı exhibition opens at the Istanbul Painting and Sculpture Museum on March 3, 2026. Composed of the artworks donated by Lâle and Cengiz Akıncı to the Istanbul Painting and Sculpture Museum, the exhibition presents a selection of Naile Akıncı’s paintings, particularly those themed around Eyüp and the Bosphorus. The exhibition brings the works of an artist raised within the Academy tradition of Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University back to the audience in the context of the institution’s foundation anniversary. The Landscape Selection: Naile Akıncı exhibition can be visited in Hall 401 on the 4th Floor until May 3, 2026.
The Akıncı Collection Donation
The couple Lâle and Cengiz Akıncı donated their collection, which dates back many years, to the Istanbul Painting and Sculpture Museum in 2023, dedicating it to the 100th anniversary of the Republic. The first 700 pieces of the donation, which consists of distinguished works of Turkish painting, sculpture, glass, and ceramic arts and holds historical significance due to its scope, contributed to the enrichment of the Istanbul Painting and Sculpture Museum’s collection. With the works included in the collection, the development of Turkish plastic arts from the early Republican period to the present day was observed within a historical process. The first part of the donation was presented to art lovers under the title Plus 700 (Artı 700), and the second part under the title Dimension Difference (Boyut Farkı).
The Lâle-Cengiz Akıncı Collection
Cengiz Akıncı, the son of the renowned painter and State Academy of Fine Arts graduate Naile Akıncı, began collecting artworks at the age of sixteen with his mother’s encouragement. After completing his law education, Akıncı specialized in copyright law, influenced by his close circle. In this way, Akıncı, who also provided legal support to artists, married Lâle Aldıkaçtı, a fellow lawyer and collector, in 1983. The collection developed together by Lâle and Cengiz Akıncı grew and diversified over the years. The collection, which mostly features Academy graduate artists, primarily consists of landscapes and still lifes covering the post-1930s era and representing different periods, figurative and abstract works, printmaking, and drawings that combine various techniques, as well as sculpture, ceramic, and glass works.
Scholarships for MSFAU Students from Lâle and Cengiz Akıncı
In addition to donating their art collection to the Istanbul Painting and Sculpture Museum, Lâle and Cengiz Akıncı also provide scholarship support to successful students in memory of the painter Naile Akıncı. The Naile Akıncı Art Award and Master’s Scholarship are awarded as a result of a selection made among female students studying in the Painting Department of Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, based on their success in graduation exams.
