Ömer Koç – Turkish Businessman

As the deputy chairman of the board at a multi-industry conglomerate Koç Holdings, Ömer Koç has turned his passion of collecting art into patronage. He has even sponsored the Istanbul Biennial for 20 years, committing until the year 2026. Furthermore, the company on his behest also pays for Turkey’s participation in the Venice Biennale and the International Nasreddin Hodja Cartoon Contest and even created a nonprofit space, Arter.

Many people have questioned the purpose of the biennials, but when a country is experiencing the difficulties that Turkey has been, it is more important than ever. In fact, last year the art scene saw increasing political pressures, including the cancellation of the Canakkale Biennial.

Ömer Koç was also active during the attempted coup by parts of the Turkish military and had the gallery show “Not All That Falls Has Wings”, which is a philosophical group that speaks on the act of failing. In 2016, Koç was named one of the year’s most influential people in the contemporary art world by ArtReview magazine.

The masculine name Ömer is the Turkish version of Umar that means “flourishing” or “populous”, and is derived from the Arabic word ‘umr that means “life”. The name has both an Arabic and Hebrew origin and is even mentioned in the Book of Genesis. The name is very common in Muslim and Arab territories and Spanish speaking countries. There are many notable people with the name, from Ömer Celik the Turkish politician and government minister to Ömer Erdogan the Turkish-German footballer.