A group of Turkish artists recently opened an exhibition at France's world-famous Louvre as part of the International Contemporary Arts Fair. Head of the Contemporary Turkish Artists Paris Association (ACT), Nazan Aktan told Anadolu Agency (AA) that the aim of the exhibition was to introduce Turkish artists as well as Turkish culture in a way to refresh Turkey's image and get it recognized.

She said it is necessary to fulfill many difficult criteria in order to open an exhibition at the fair. "The works should primarily be of very high quality," she added. Aktan said they participated in this year's exhibition, backed by Turkey's Culture Ministry, with 11 Turkish artists. The exhibition will travel to other European cities as well.

Artist Jale Gürcan, who made models of Istanbul and Paris from ceramics, said she practices her art through cities. She prepared a model by taking the map of Paris and the historical Notre Dame Cathedral in the middle for this exhibition. In her Istanbul model, the Hagia Sophia is the centerpiece.

At the 22nd International Contemporary Art Fair, the Turkish artists' booth saw some great interest. The exhibition features around 450 artists from different countries and more than 1,700 works. It will be open until May 26.