What's on: Biennial news, festival dates, gallery shows, and more
A biweekly roundup of art exhibitions, cultural events, and arts and culture news in Istanbul and elsewhere in Turkey.
The Istanbul Biennial Tries to Find Its Feet
A focal point of the city’s art calendar since it was established in 1987, the Istanbul Biennial has been going through a rocky patch since a secrecy-shrouded selection process for its next curator in 2023 culminated in a staffing shakeup and a decision to postpone the 18th edition of the event (scheduled for 2024) entirely. Speaking to a packed house at a press conference last week, Lebanese curator Christine Tohmé, chosen in late 2024 to try and right the ship, acknowledged the controversy, saying that “we all carry the responsibility for what happened in the past on our shoulders” and that “the way we do biennials needs to be revisited.”
Mostly, though, she focused on her future plans, announcing “The Three-Legged Cat” as the title of the 18th Istanbul Biennial with a three-year structure to match: an initial exhibition from 20 September to 23 November 2025, featuring 40+ artists as well as performances and other events; a focus in 2026 on creating an academy and collaborating with local initiatives on public programs; and a final round of exhibitions and workshops in 2027 “bringing together what has been encountered along the way.”
If the feline theme seems trite (it’s a bit of a joke that every foreign correspondent in Istanbul has to do a street-cat story before they depart), Tohmé’s suggestion that she sees the three-legged cat as a metaphor for creative and adaptive survival holds more promise, as does her previous work in Beirut, which focused on cities, public spaces, cross-cultural exchange, and resistance. It will be interesting to see if someone who told Bidoun two decades ago that “biennials are slowly turning into dinosaurs” can help give this one a new lease on life.
More Cultural News 🗞
The full program for the Istanbul Jazz Festival (1 to 17 July) has been announced; tickets go on sale to holders of İKSV’s “Lale Kart” on 11 March and to the general public on 14 March.
The New and Newest Music Festival at Arter, featuring avant-garde sound installations, concerts, intermedia performances, and DJ sets has been rescheduled for 14 to 16 March after being postponed due to Istanbul’s February snowstorm.
The 2nd edition of the Turkish Textile Biennial opened in the Gazipaşa and Alanya districts of Antalya and runs through 13 April.
The Basilica Cistern (Yerebatan Sarnıcı), Theodosius Cistern (Şerefiye Sarnıcı), Panorama 1453 History Museum, and Minatürk are open free of charge to Turkish citizens after iftar until midnight for the month of Ramadan (through 29 March) using the Radar QR feature of the Radar Türkiye app.
Short Takes: Art exhibitions in brief
Stark environments and the threat of climate change unite Murat German’s large-scale photographs of glaciers, Ali Kazma’s short video piece on the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, and the works of two other artists in Northward (to 22 March at Bozlu Art Project, Doktor Şevket Bey Sok. No:5, Şişli; open Tue-Sat 10am-5:30pm). German’s digitally remixed cityscapes meanwhile highlight Istanbul’s uncontrolled growth in his solo show Mirage (to 8 March at Maçka Sanat Gallery, Mim Kemal Öke Cad. No:31/A, Maçka; open Tue-Sat noon-7pm). New-generation artists who draw on inspirations ranging from ancient history to childhood memories are featured in the lively group exhibition Gravitational Carnation (to 29 March at Pilot, Sıraselviler Cad. No:83/2, Cihangir; open Tue-Sat 11am-6pm) while the search for home, belonging, and connection animates the works by four diverse artists in Sharing the Same Breath (to 21 March at BüroSarıgedik, Meclis-i Mebusan Cad. No:31/2, Fındıklı, Beyoğlu; open Mon-Fri 10am-6pm).
Recommended reads 📚
Anadolu Rock, Politics, and the Hippie Counterculture – How the unlikely pair of the hippie counterculture and left-wing politics come together in Moğollar’s “Mountain and Child”. by Kenan Behzat Sharpe for SHEER.
Trump’s Funding Freeze Leaves Ukrainian Cultural Heritage in Limbo – Experts worry for the future of vital preservation programs as the US State Department reviews its policies. by Maya Pontone for Hyperallergic.
Review: States of Earth – An exhibition that widely explains why we need to understand the planet as a web of contested territories and fragile lives, and not just an ecosystem. María Inés Plaza Lazo interviews the curators of the current exhibition at Yapı Kredi Kültür Sanat for Arts of the Working Class.
The CIA Book Smuggling Operation That Helped Bring Down Communism – From George Orwell to Hannah Arendt and John le Carré, thousands of blacklisted books flooded into Poland during the cold war, as publishers and printers risked their lives for literature. by Charlie English for The Guardian.
Basim Magdy on Traditional Narratives and Our Perceptions of Memory, History and Time – Daniela Silva interviews the Egyptian-born artist, who work was recently featured in a solo show at artSümer gallery in Istanbul, for CLOT Magazine.