September 2025

September 1–30, 2025

Warm days, cooler nights, and the slow return of Istanbul’s autumn art season

Early September moved quietly this year. The city was still exhaling the last of summer—slow ferries, softer evenings, and a kind of looseness in the streets that always seems to happen before the art season begins again. By mid-month, though, everything shifted. Galleries reopened their doors, familiar banners went up across Beyoğlu, and that subtle current of anticipation returned. The second half of the month unfolded in full color, with some of the first major exhibitions of the season and the 20th anniversary of Contemporary Istanbul anchoring the week.

Contemporary Istanbul 2025 – 20th Anniversary Edition

September 24 – September 28, 2025

Contemporary Istanbul returned to Tersane for its 20th year, and the fair felt both celebratory and steady—full of that familiar hum of people moving at different speeds, wandering from one hall to the next. The Focus America section brought a sharp energy into the mix, introducing New York’s visual rhythm into Istanbul’s already rich conversations. I walked through the fair slowly, letting the contrasts settle: bold lines, crowded walls, quiet pieces tucked into corners, and the open waterfront just beyond the buildings. It felt expansive without being overwhelming, and I left thinking about how much the fair has evolved—and how naturally it now fits into the city’s autumn pulse.

Address: Tersane Istanbul, Beyoğlu, Istanbul

Elif Uras: “Earth on Their Hands” – Galerist

September 16 – November 8, 2025

Galerist opened the fall season with Elif Uras’s ceramics, and the show unfolded with a kind of elegant confidence. Her sculptural forms blend İznik-inspired surfaces with contemporary shapes that feel grounded, bodily, and expressive. In the gallery’s soft light, the glaze and patterning wrapped around each curve like thoughts circling a memory—historical, but also very present. I found myself walking around the pieces more than once, noticing how they shifted when seen from different angles. It was a quiet but deeply satisfying exhibition to begin the season with.

Address: Meşrutiyet Caddesi No:67/1, Passage Petits-Champs, Tepebaşı, Beyoğlu

Juliette Minchin: “Where the River Burns” – Zeyrek Çinili Hamam

September 19, 2025 – January 18, 2026

Visiting this exhibition inside the Byzantine cistern beneath Zeyrek Çinili Hamam felt like stepping into another layer of time. Juliette Minchin’s wax, tin, and paper works glowed softly in the cool, vaulted space, their textures merging with brick and shadow. Her themes—ritual, purification, care—took on a fuller intensity underground, where everything echoed gently and the stillness felt almost ceremonial. It was the kind of exhibition that asks you to slow down, breathe differently, and let the atmosphere settle into you.

Address: İtfaiye Caddesi No:44, Zeyrek, Fatih