The festival’s exhibition program will feature exhibitions by internationally acclaimed photographers.
The ninth edition of 212 Photography Istanbul will bring international photographers, exhibitions and interdisciplinary events to more than 25 venues across Istanbul from Sept. 26 to Oct. 11, marking the 200th anniversary of photography.
The festival will present a broad program of exhibitions, talks, workshops, film screenings, performances, music events, artist gatherings and city discovery routes, creating an art route across Istanbul.
Among the venues hosting exhibitions are Tophane-i Amire Culture and Art Center, Galata Greek School, 212 Studio, Akaretler, Eski Posta Han, St. Benoît Church, Yapı Kredi bomontiada, Taksim Sanat and Institut français. Talks, film screenings and book signings will be held at venues including Minoa, Pera Museum and Soho House.
The festival’s exhibition program will feature internationally recognized photographers including the late Martin Parr, Yann Arthus-Bertrand, Jill Greenberg, Frank Horvat and Omar Victor Diop, as well as Catherine Nelson and David Szauder.
Parr’s retrospective “Short & Sweet,” presented at Galata Greek School, will offer a comprehensive look at the British photographer’s career and his distinctive approach to everyday life through humor, color and observation.
Horvat’s “Please Don’t Smile,” also at Galata Greek School with the sponsorship of ULUDAĞ, will bring together works from different periods of the photographer’s career, focusing on his reinterpretation of established codes of fashion photography through spontaneous gestures and everyday
moments.
Arthus-Bertrand’s exhibition, spanning his work from the 1970s to the present, will be presented at Tophane-i Amire Culture and Art Center with the support of the Culture and Tourism Ministry. Known for his aerial photography, the artist’s work explores the relationship between humanity, nature and the environment.
Greenberg’s “Monkey Portraits” and the “Art on Cars” project are among the projects.
“Colors of Scandinavia,” bringing together 18 Scandinavian photographers, will be shown at 212 Studio, while “On Construction: Brazilian Modernist Photography” will be presented at Eski Posta Han. The exhibition, which was among the highlights of Les Rencontres d’Arles’ 2025 program, will be shown in Istanbul for the first time.
The festival will also feature an exhibition by the Bülent Eczacıbaşı Foundation Photography Research Center (BEVFAM), focusing on Türkiye’s photographic heritage and archival culture.
The program will explore photography’s relationship with identity, representation and technology. Diop’s self-portraits examine history, identity and representation, while Nelson combines photography and digital collage in dreamlike compositions. Szauder, known for his AI-assisted works, focuses on the impact of technology on creative expression.
Alongside exhibitions, the festival will offer a program of workshops, talks, films, performances and music events. Activities include a cyanotype workshop with Elçin Acun and Mert Çağıl Türkay, film screenings of “Home,” “Terra,” “Andy Warhol: American Dream” and “Nature” and talks on architecture, color and space and cameraless photography.
Discovery routes will explore different parts of Istanbul, including Karaköy and Perşembe Pazarı, Kadıköy and the Istanbul Textile Traders’ Market. Workshops and routes will also be held at Fotohaus Karaköy and along Bağdat Caddesi.
Music and performance events will be organized at venues including Ceneviz Sanat, Zorlu PSM, Babylon and Komünite, as well as in collaboration with the Akbank Jazz Festival and Sofar Sounds.
Portfolio Reviews, a program held since the festival’s first edition, will provide photographers with one-on-one meetings with artists participating in the festival. The program is also open to recent photography graduates and aims to support photographers pursuing professional careers.
Founded in 2018, 212 Photography Istanbul is a platform focusing on visual storytelling across photography and moving images while bringing artists and diverse voices from different geographies together with audiences. The festival is held across Istanbul through exhibitions, talks, workshops, film screenings, performances, city and exhibition tours and artist gatherings.
The 212 Photography Istanbul will run from Sept 26 to Oct 11 at more than 25 venues, featuring international photographers, exhibitions, workshops, films and events as photography marks its 200th anniversary
