Istanbul Biennial to explore city’s neighborhoods

ISTANBUL

The 17th Istanbul Biennial, organized by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV) and supported by Koç Holding, will take place between Sept. 17 and Nov. 20 this year.

Istanbul Biennial 2022 will be organized in specific locations across the city to reveal and amplify connections between present-day life and Istanbul’s richly layered past.

Spanning historic districts as well as those developed during the city’s expansion over the last century, the Biennial venues will include the atelier of a modern master calligrapher and bookbinder, a fifteenth-century hammam, an abandoned Greek School, an art space run by immigrant artists and a former gas house, newly renovated as a cultural center, along with an independent radio station that has been broadcast for over two decades.

Together, these sites will not only play host to the biennial’s diverse projects but will also reveal social histories and contemporary challenges faced by Istanbulites in the midst of constant change.

Located in the three distinct regions of Beyoğlu, Kadıköy and the Old City (Fatih), the Biennial’s exhibitions will take place in the following venues:

In Beyoğlu, the venues will include the Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation Pera Museum, Performistanbul Live Art Research Space (PCSAA) and the Central Greek High School for Girls. SAHA Studio will present a special program as one of the participants of the Istanbul Biennial.

Kadıköy is the setting for Gashouse Museum and arthereistanbul, an independent space for artistic creation, originally founded by Syrian migrant artists. In the Old City (Fatih), visitors will explore Barın Han and the Küçük Mustafa Paşa Hammam, one of the city’s oldest Turkish baths.

The Biennia’s main thematic concerns will be introduced by way of a special programming collaboration with the Istanbul Film Festival this April. The artists and curators have also been engaging with Turkish-speaking communities through Radyo Bienal. Across the summer of 2022 in the lead-up to the exhibition, Radyo Bienal will reach out to global audiences through a regular series of podcasts opening up the process and research of Biennial participants. The programs will be made available in both Turkish and English on the İKSV website, and through social media and podcast platforms.

The invited curatorial team, Ute Meta Bauer, Amar Kanwar and David Teh, are working with Bige Örer, director of the Istanbul Biennial and Contemporary Art Projects at İKSV, to reimagine the Biennial’s form and to recalibrate its priorities. The participants will be announced in spring.