The beleaguered Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV), organisers of the Turkish capital’s biennial, is hoping that announcement of the next edition’s title and theme will draw a line under almost two years of controversy.
Curator Christine Tohmé announced that her exhibition will be titled The Three-Legged Cat, taking in themes of self-preservation and futurity. ‘Resting on three legs from 2025 through 2027, the 18th Istanbul Biennial is thoroughly feline. It secures its footing by stretching in time, following a rhythm nourished by conversations, gymnastics, and incessant news streams,’ the press release states.
The first leg, running from 20 September to 23 November 2025, presents an exhibition with over 40 artists, alongside performances, screenings, and talks; the second leg, in 2026, is dedicated to creating an academy and collaborating with local initiatives on a series of public programmes. For the final part, in 2027, Tohmé says 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’.
Tohmé took over the curatorial reins following intense criticism of İKSV’s decision-making process after the rejection of Defne Ayas as the original curator of what was supposed to be the 2024 edition. Instead they parachuted in Iwona Blazwick, herself part of the advisory board that had selected Ayas. In the face of the ensuing backlash – including the resignation of the other advisors and an artist boycott – the former director of London’s Whitechapel Gallery quit and the the show was postponed.
Curator Kevser Güler was subsequently appointed as the new director of the Istanbul Biennial, with Tohmé asked to oversee the latest edition in October last year.
15 August: The İKSV has announced the artists participating in the first ‘leg’ of the 18th Istanbul Biennial, which opens on 20 September through 23 November.
Haig Aivazian (b. 1980, Beirut); Abdullah Al Saadi (b. 1967, Khor Fakkan); Ana Alenso (b. 1982, Caracas); Willy Aractingi (b. 1930, New York; d. 2003, Barcelona); Karimah Ashadu (b. 1985, London); Mona Benyamin (b. 1997, Haifa); Chen Ching-Yuan (b. 1984, Tainan); Ian Davis (b. 1972, Indianapolis); Nolan Oswald Dennis (b. 1988, Lusaka); İpek Duben (b. 1941, Istanbul); Celina Eceiza (b. 1988, Tandil); Ali Eyal (b. 1994, Baghdad); Eva Fàbregas (b. 1988, Barcelona); Simone Fattal (b. 1942, Damascus); Lou Fauroux (b. 1998, Mulhouse); Pélagie Gbaguidi (b. 1965, Dakar); Lungiswa Gqunta (b. 1990, Gqeberha); Rafik Greiss (b. 1997, Cairo); Ola Hassanain (b. 1985, Khartoum); Doruntina Kastrati (b. 1991, Prizren); Jasleen Kaur (b. 1986, Glasgow); Şafak Şule Kemancı (b. 1975, Istanbul); Kongkee (b. 1977, Sarawak); Seta Manoukian (b. 1945, Beirut); Mona Marzouk (b. 1968, Alexandria); Merve Mepa (b. 1985, Kocaeli); Valentin Noujaïm (b. 1991, Angers); Claudia Pagès Rabal (b. 1990, Barcelona); Pilar Quinteros (b. 1988, Santiago); Khalil Rabah (b. 1961, Jerusalem); Jagdeep Raina (b. 1991, Guelph); Marwan Rechmaoui (b. 1964, Beirut); Naomi Rincón-Gallardo (b. 1979, North Carolina); Riar Rizaldi (b. 1990, Bandung); Lara Saab (b. 1991, Montreal); Sara Sadik (b. 1994, Bordeaux); Stéphanie Saadé (b. 1983, Beirut); Sohail Salem (b. 1974, Gaza); Elif Saydam (b. 1985, Calgary); Selma Selman (b. 1991, Bihać); Natasha Tontey (b. 1989, Minahasa); Sevil Tunaboylu (b. 1982, Istanbul); VASKOS (founded in 2014, New York); Ana Vaz (b. 1986, Brasília); Dilek Winchester (b. 1974, Istanbul); Akram Zaatari (b. 1966, Saida); Ayman Zedani (b. 1984, Abha)
