Artİstanbul Feshane Named Main Venue for the 19th Istanbul Biennial

Artİstanbul Feshane has been announced as the main venue for the 19th Istanbul Biennial, organized by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV). The biennial will be curated by artist and curator Liu Ding and art historian and curator Carol Yinghua Lu. It will be open to visitors free of charge at Artİstanbul Feshane and other venues from 18 September to 14 November 2027. An open call focusing on art in wartime has also been announced.

Artİstanbul Feshane to be the main venue

The biennial is organized with the support of Koç Holding, its sponsor for the 2007–2036 period. According to the announced schedule, preview days will take place from 14 to 17 September 2027. Artİstanbul Feshane has been selected as the main venue, with other locations to be announced at a later date.

The biennial’s conceptual framework has not yet been fully revealed. According to the curators’ announcement, a framework that also encompasses discussions beyond the open call’s thematic focus will be shared in December 2026. Further details on the exhibition’s other themes and venue program are therefore expected later.

Open call focuses on art in wartime

Titled “Amid the Wind and Rain: An Open Call for Art in Wartime,” the call aims to deepen one strand of the curators’ research for the biennial. The call describes war not merely as a condition of conflict on the battlefield, but as one that shapes everyday life through effects ranging from financial sanctions to energy conflicts.

Rather than examining war itself, the research seeks to explore ways of imagining and pursuing peace, as well as how forms of life grounded in care might be built. The open call is open to artists working in all disciplines, from Türkiye and abroad. It is not limited to a particular art form; however, the announcement does not specify a dedicated application category for architecture or visualization.

Application timeline and required materials

Applications can be submitted online from 19 October to 22 November 2026. The deadline is 23:59 on 22 November. Applications may be prepared in Turkish or English.

Applications must include two items:

• A project proposal that directly addresses the call’s themes and is no longer than 3,500 characters, excluding spaces

• A portfolio presenting the applicant’s work

The curators will hold interviews with selected artists at a later date. The announcement did not specify an interview schedule or the number of projects to be selected. The application form and detailed requirements are available on the biennial’s website.

What this means for architecture and visualization teams

Naming Artİstanbul Feshane as the main venue makes the biennial’s spatial focus visible at this early stage. However, the current announcement contains no information about exhibition layouts, spatial design, production, or visualization work. No direct work opportunities or technical requirements for architecture and interior design studios have been announced.

For professionals from different disciplines considering applying as artists, the key requirements are the proposal’s direct relevance to the call’s themes and the character limit. Once the biennial’s other venues and conceptual framework are announced, it should become clearer how the exhibitions will extend across different spaces. For now, no specific hardware, software compatibility, or licensing requirements have been announced.