BMW’s Turkish importer Borusan Otomotiv has joined the Türkiye Pavilion at the 61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia as a key partner. The pavilion, commissioned by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV), presents Nilbar Güreş’s exhibition “A Kiss on the Eyes” at the Sale d’Armi in the Arsenale until 22 November 2026. It is the importer’s first involvement with the pavilion, and an extension of BMW’s decades-long cultural sponsorship programme.

Borusan Otomotiv, BMW’s official importer in Türkiye and — according to the company — the brand’s largest importer worldwide, is supporting the Türkiye Pavilion at the 61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia. It is the first time the importer has backed the pavilion, which runs until 22 November 2026.

The exhibition in Venice

The pavilion is commissioned by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV) and shows “A Kiss on the Eyes” by artist Nilbar Güreş, curated by Başak Doğa Temür. The presentation spans sculpture, installation, painting and mixed-media work, and the organisers describe it as exploring intimacy, resilience and cultural identity through textiles, everyday objects and organic forms carrying personal and collective histories.

The pavilion is staged under the auspices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye, with a contribution from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, co-sponsorship from Trendyol Art and further support from Turkish Airlines and the SAHA Association. İKSV has coordinated the Türkiye Pavilion since 2007, and the pavilion has had a permanent home at the Sale d’Armi in the Arsenale since 2014.

A carmaker’s long habit of art sponsorship

For BMW, Venice is familiar territory. The BMW Group hosts an annual event at the Biennale together with the Neue Nationalgalerie to mark their partnership around the Preis der Nationalgalerie, which goes to Maurizio Cattelan in 2026. Back in 2011, BMW worked with artist Hajnal Németh on the “CRASH – Passive Interview” installation for the Hungarian Pavilion.

Borusan Otomotiv’s involvement this year coincides with the artistic leadership of the late Koyo Kouoh at the Venice Biennale. The company describes Kouoh as a long-term collaborator with BMW Group Culture who helped initiate the carmaker’s engagement with the Education Centre at Zeitz MOCAA.

“As Borusan Otomotiv, we consider this partnership a significant milestone in our more than 40-year engagement with art,” stated Hakan Tiftik, CEO of Borusan Otomotiv. “This support represents a natural extension of Borusan Group’s long-standing commitment to culture and the arts, as well as the strong and authentic relationship that the BMW brand we represent in Türkiye has established with the art world. We will continue to build on this deeply rooted heritage, shaping our vision in culture and the arts with a long-term and strategic perspective.”

What Borusan has done before

During 2025 the importer supported Contemporary Istanbul, described as Türkiye’s leading international art fair, and took part in the celebrations around the 50th anniversary of the BMW Art Car. It brought the BMW Art Car World Tour to Turkish audiences via events, art fairs, festivals and dealer openings, with works by Alexander Calder, Roy Lichtenstein and Jeff Koons among those shown, alongside Julie Mehretu’s 2024 “rolling sculpture”.

The wider Borusan Holding has supported the Istanbul Music Festival since its first edition as a founding member of İKSV, while Borusan Sanat has worked on widening access to classical music since 1977 and now operates under the Borusan Kocabıyık Foundation. The Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra was founded 26 years ago, and Borusan Contemporary runs an office-museum at the historic Perili Köşk showing artists including Bill Viola, Doug Aitken, Axel Hütte and Edward Burtynsky. The Borusan Contemporary Art Collection is a member of ICOM and, the company says, the first collection in Türkiye to join the International Association of Corporate Collections of Contemporary Art (IACCCA).

What it means

No cars are involved here, and that is rather the point. Sponsorship of this kind is a brand-building exercise rather than a product story: BMW has built one of the most extensive corporate art programmes in the industry, from the BMW Art Journey to the Berlin Biennale and Art Basel, and its national importers increasingly mirror that at market level. For Türkiye, a market where BMW sells strongly, tying the marque to the country’s flagship cultural export in Venice keeps the badge visible well away from the showroom.

The Türkiye Pavilion at the Sale d’Armi, Arsenale, is open until 22 November 2026.

Source: www.press.bmwgroup.com