When dozens of valuable works by Turkish modern and contemporary artists that had been part of a university museum’s collection were about to be sold at auction earlier this year, an uproar ensued. Petitions were signed and statements of shock were issued against what was perceived as a violation by new American overseers of Istanbul Bilgi University of a sacred trust among museums, donors and the public. Artists and curators feared the sale would amount to a crude stripping of unprotected cultural assets.

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