September 20–November 23, 2025
The 18th Istanbul Biennial unfolds across a constellation of eight venues throughout the Beyoglu district, inviting visitors to experience it entirely on foot.
Having announced its title as The Three-Legged Cat and its three-year structure with curator Christine Tohmé, the 18th Istanbul Biennial proceeds to unveil the venues it will inhabit during its first leg, scheduled from September 20 to November 23, 2025.
With no fixed venue, the Istanbul Biennial reinvents its relationship to the city with each new edition. The 18th edition continues this tradition and further underscores it, foregrounding the spatial and political relationship that the venues continue to forge with the city at large.
A familiar destination for Istanbul Biennial visitors, Galata Greek School re-joins the biennial venues after undergoing a comprehensive restoration between 2019 and 2024. Located in Karaköy, the school was originally built in 1885, serving generations of students from 1910 until its closure in 1988. The next stop, Zihni Han, has recently been refurbished for the biennial. This once derelict structure, rebuilt in 1973, housed the headquarters of a shipping agency in Tophane, a historic maritime gateway that linked Istanbul to the Levant. The building stands amid the sweeping waterfront development of the Galataport project. Following the Meclis-i Mebusan Avenue northwards, visitors are invited to stop by the ground floor of building number 35, which has been repurposed to host works for the exhibition.
Nearby, Muradiye Han and Galeri 77, a former wine cellar, are situated opposite one another on Galata Wine Dock Street, which once led to the district’s ancient wine dock, a major hub for wine trade with barrels arriving from across the Aegean. Around the corner is the former ice cream cone factory, revived in recent years as a site of cultural experimentation.
Climbing from Karaköy to Beyoğlu along Boğazkesen Street, visitors will encounter the former French Orphanage, a four-story estate once belonging to the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul, with a public installation in its garden. Continuing upwards to reach İstiklal Avenue, we arrive at Elhamra Han. Built in 1827 as one of Istanbul’s earliest theatre halls, the building transformed with the city over time: first serving as a vibrant entertainment venue known as the ‘Palais de Cristal’, and later harbouring cinema and theatre enterprises throughout much of the 20th century.
In curating this edition of the Istanbul Biennial, the close proximity between the venues, spread across Karaköy and Beyoğlu, has emerged as one of its defining qualities. Freed from the demands of transit and logistical planning, visitors may pause along the way, encounter the city as part of the exhibition’s texture, and engage with the works in a fluid temporal flow.
About the 18th Istanbul Biennial
The 18th Istanbul Biennial is organised by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV) and sponsored by Koç Holding as well as other supporters, international funders, and funding bodies to be announced. Curated by Christine Tohmé, the Biennial will unfold in three distinct legs, each building on the previous one and carrying forward lines of inquiry and research from 2025 to 2027. Its first leg, running from September 20 to November 23, 2025, presents an exhibition with more than 40 artists, alongside performances, screenings, and talks centered on themes of self-preservation and futurity. The second leg, in 2026, is dedicated to creating an academy and collaborating with local initiatives on a series of public programmes. In 2027, the biennial leans on its third leg to rest, bringing together what has been encountered along the way through a final round of exhibitions and workshops.
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