Öktem Aykut is founded by Doga Öktem and Tankut Aykut in November, 2014 in Istanbul. The gallery has organized over 100 exhibitions in two different gallery locations and in extra spaces so far, and took part in many international art fairs. Öktem Aykut has mostly exhibited works by Istanbul-based emerging and mid-career artists. Doga and Tankut have aimed to work with artists of diverse backgrounds with alternating artistic references, yet the gallery mainly cared to highlight a common critical approach towards contemporary societal conditions. The prolific practice of exhibition making and the remaining inclusive approach towards the divergent Istanbul art communities made Öktem Aykut the leading young independent contemporary art gallery in Turkey. The gallery work is chiefly assumed by Doga and Tankut, with the help of their sole assistant Mehmet Akyildiz since from the beginning.