Introduction
The Istanbul Biennial is a leading international contemporary art exhibition that has transformed Istanbul into a crucial node in the global art network. Established in 1987 by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV), the biennial brings together artists, curators, and cultural practitioners from around the world to engage with the city's unique position at the intersection of Europe and Asia.
Renowned for its critical engagement with socio-political issues and cultural narratives, the Istanbul Biennial has consistently fostered dialogue between local and global art scenes. After a period of controversy and restructuring, the 18th edition promises a revolutionary three-year format under curator Christine Tohmé, stretching from 2025 to 2027.
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The Bridge and the Break: How Istanbul Biennial Navigates Cultural Crossroads in Times of Crisis
In the annals of international art biennials, few have embodied their city's character as profoundly as the Istanbul Biennial. Since 1987, this exhibition has served as more than just a showcase for contemporary art—it has functioned as a barometer of Turkey's cultural temperature, a bridge between East and West, and increasingly, a site of contestation about artistic freedom, curatorial independence, and the role of art in society.
The recent curatorial crisis that postponed the 18th edition from 2024 to 2025 represents both a breaking point and a potential rebirth for one of the art world's most politically charged biennials. The controversy, which saw the rejection of unanimously recommended curator Defne Ayas in favor of Iwona Blazwick—and Blazwick's subsequent stepping down amid protests—exposed deep fractures in Turkey's art ecosystem while simultaneously catalyzing a radical reimagining of what a biennial could be.
The appointment of Christine Tohmé as curator brings a figure uniquely positioned to navigate these troubled waters. As the founder of Beirut's Ashkal Alwan and curator of the boundary-breaking Sharjah Biennial 13, Tohmé has spent decades working in contexts where art must negotiate political volatility, economic precarity, and questions of representation. Her proposal for a three-year biennial titled "The Three-Legged Cat" represents not just a curatorial vision but a structural intervention in the biennial format itself.
This extended timeframe—with exhibitions and programs spanning 2025 to 2027—directly addresses one of the fundamental tensions in contemporary biennial culture: the pressure to produce spectacular events on rigid two-year cycles that often prioritize international visibility over local engagement. By stretching the biennial across three years, Tohmé aims to "reclaim time" as she puts it, allowing for deeper community connections and more sustained artistic processes.
The Istanbul Biennial's history reads like a chronicle of Turkey's own journey through globalization, democratization, and recent authoritarian turns. The 2013 edition, which coincided with the Gezi Park protests, saw tear gas wafting through exhibition venues and forced a retreat from public spaces—a vivid illustration of how the biennial has always been entangled with Istanbul's political realities. The 2015 edition's 545,000 visitors marked a high point in attendance, but subsequent years have seen the biennial grappling with increasing political pressures and questions about its relationship to state power.
What makes the current moment particularly significant is how it reflects broader challenges facing international art institutions operating in politically fraught contexts. The controversy over Ayas's rejection—widely believed to be connected to her refusal to deny the Armenian genocide while curating Turkey's 2015 Venice Biennale pavilion—highlighted how historical memory and contemporary politics continue to shape cultural production in Turkey.
Yet the crisis has also generated unexpected opportunities. The open call for artists announced for the 2025 edition marks the first time in over a decade that the Istanbul Biennial has adopted this more democratic approach to artist selection. The formation of a new advisory board with clearer regulations about curator selection suggests an institution attempting to rebuild trust through transparency.
As Istanbul itself transforms—with 17.4 million international tourists in 2023 making it the world's most-visited city—the biennial faces the challenge of maintaining critical edge while operating in an increasingly commercialized cultural landscape. Tohmé's emphasis on "self-preservation and futurities" as themes for the first leg of the biennial speaks to both personal and collective strategies for survival in precarious times. The three-year format allows for what she calls investment in "the creative process, everyday exchanges, openings, studio visits, and reading groups"—the less visible but perhaps more transformative aspects of artistic production.
The Istanbul Biennial's evolution from a relatively conventional international exhibition to this experimental three-year format represents more than institutional innovation. It suggests a model for how art institutions might respond to crisis not through retrenchment but through radical reimagining. In a world where biennials proliferate but often struggle to differentiate themselves, Istanbul's willingness to fundamentally rethink its temporal and spatial logic could influence how we understand the role of recurring exhibitions in fostering genuine cultural exchange rather than art world tourism.
Artistic Vision & Themes
The Istanbul Biennial is distinguished by its engagement with themes of identity, migration, urban transformation, and geopolitical tensions. Located in a city that bridges continents and civilizations, the biennial consistently examines the complexities of cultural exchange and historical memory in a rapidly changing world.
The 18th edition, titled "The Three-Legged Cat," will explore themes of self-preservation and futurities across its three-year span. Curator Christine Tohmé asks: "How can we inhabit our worlds as they unravel, making space for both nightmares and dreams, impermanence and endurance?" This extended format aims to foster deeper engagement with local communities and support artistic practices that require time to develop.
Unlike more commercial art events, the Istanbul Biennial maintains a strong critical position, frequently using art as a lens to examine complex social and political realities. Past editions have addressed themes from "Mom, am I barbarian?" (2013) during the Gezi protests to "The Seventh Continent" (2019) examining waste and environmental crisis.
History & Legacy
Founded in 1987 during a period of significant social and economic transformation in Turkey, the Istanbul Biennial quickly established itself as a vital platform for contemporary art in the region. The first two editions were coordinated by Beral Madra, focusing on "Contemporary Art in Traditional Spaces," setting a precedent for the biennial's engagement with Istanbul's historic architecture.
From 1992 onwards, İKSV adopted a single curator system, beginning with Vasif Kortun's "Production of Cultural Difference." This shift marked the biennial's evolution toward more conceptually rigorous exhibitions that engaged with pressing cultural and political questions.
First Istanbul Biennial established by İKSV, coordinated by Beral Madra
"Orient/ation" curated by René Block shifts toward global perspective
Charles Esche and Vasif Kortun's "Istanbul" focuses on the city itself
"Mom, am I barbarian?" coincides with Gezi Park protests, 337,429 visitors
Record 545,000 visitors attend Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev's "SALTWATER"
17th edition "Without destroying myself in the process" by Ute Meta Bauer
Curatorial crisis leads to postponement and restructuring
Christine Tohmé's three-year "The Three-Legged Cat" begins
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Exhibition Venues
The Istanbul Biennial utilizes diverse venues throughout the city, ranging from purpose-built contemporary art spaces to historical buildings, repurposed industrial sites, and public spaces. This distributed exhibition model invites visitors to explore different neighborhoods and experience Istanbul's complex urban landscape.
Key venues have included Istanbul Modern (now in its new Karaköy building), Pera Museum, Antrepo warehouses, historic hamams, former Greek schools like Galata Greek Primary School, Byzantine churches, and Ottoman-era buildings. Recent editions have also incorporated ARTER, SALT Beyoğlu, and various independent art spaces.
This strategic use of space creates meaningful dialogues between contemporary art and Istanbul's rich architectural heritage, allowing the biennial to engage with the city's layered history from Byzantine through Ottoman to contemporary times.
Video Experience
Explore the Istanbul Biennial through this documentary showcasing the exhibitions, artists, and the unique cultural landscape of Istanbul's contemporary art scene.
Video: Istanbul Biennial Exhibition Tour | Watch on YouTube
Venue Locations
The Istanbul Biennial takes place across numerous venues throughout the city, creating cultural routes that connect diverse neighborhoods from historic Sultanahmet to contemporary Karaköy.
- Istanbul Modern - Tophane İskele Caddesi 1/1, Beyoğlu
- Pera Museum - Meşrutiyet Caddesi No.65, Tepebaşı
- ARTER - Irmak Cad. No:13, Dolapdere
- SALT Beyoğlu - İstiklal Caddesi 136, Beyoğlu
- Various Historic Venues - Distributed throughout Istanbul