October 2025

Cooler days, long shadows, and the city opening itself room by room

October arrived with that unmistakable shift in Istanbul’s air—the heat loosens its grip, the light softens, and suddenly the city feels ready for art again. This month belonged to the 18th Istanbul Biennial, the first phase of a three-year project shaped around the image of a three-legged cat: moving differently, balancing unevenly, but still moving forward. I spent the month following this rhythm through Beyoğlu and Karaköy, visiting the Biennial’s main venues, each carrying its own atmosphere, its own questions, its own pace.

18th Istanbul Biennial: “The Three-Legged Cat” – Zihni Han

September 20 – November 23, 2025

Zihni Han became my starting point—not just because it holds such a large portion of the Biennial, but because the building itself seems to echo the exhibition’s themes. Spread over multiple floors, it felt like moving through chapters rather than rooms. At the top, the city opened up in every direction, framing sculptural forms that at first looked playful—oversized toys, strangely disarming—until their undercurrents of hierarchy and competition began to surface. On the floors below, quieter works drew me in: notebook drawings that held the weight of daily life under pressure, delicate objects hinting at ecological transformation, soft plastic sheets hanging like thresholds that asked who gets included and who remains outside. Further down, a film about a Paris nightclub wove communities and memories together, and a series of paintings lingered on resistance, ruin, and survival. By the time I reached the ground floor, everything felt condensed again—colorful, textile, comforting, a small space to breathe before stepping back into the city.

Address: Müeyyetzade Mah., Tophane İskele Cd. No:12, Beyoğlu, Istanbul

18th Istanbul Biennial – The Greek School (Kırmızı Mektep / The Red School)

September 20 – November 23, 2025

The Greek School in Fener is one of those buildings that already carries centuries of presence, and walking into it as part of the Biennial added a strange sense of layering—past, present, and future possibilities all pressed together. The works here leaned toward storytelling: pieces that followed personal histories, fragments of collective memory, and the emotional residue of places that have changed or disappeared. The vaulted ceilings and deep red brick made everything feel a little more resonant, a little slower. Some installations explored belonging and displacement; others centered on endurance, preservation, and what it means to carry one’s past forward. As I moved from one floor to the next, I kept noticing how the building shaped the viewing experience—echoes, stair landings, corners of rooms where objects seemed to settle naturally. It was one of the most atmospheric stops of the month.

Address: Fener Rum Erkek Lisesi, Vodina Cd. No: 6, Fener, Fatih

18th Istanbul Biennial – Anadolu Han

September 20 – November 23, 2025

Anadolu Han offered a quieter mood—more contained, almost introspective. The works here circled themes of self-preservation and vulnerability, two of the Biennial’s central ideas. Objects made from fragile materials sat beside heavier, more grounded pieces; videos unfolded slowly in dim corners; and soundscape works created gentle pockets of stillness. I found myself slowing down unconsciously, letting each installation reveal itself at its own pace. Some works spoke to solitude, others to endurance, and others to the act of holding on to one’s identity in times of upheaval. It felt like the Biennial’s softest, most intimate venue.

Address: Bankalar Cd. No: 2, Karaköy, Beyoğlu

18th Istanbul Biennial – Tütün Deposu / Tobacco Warehouse

September 20 – November 23, 2025

This space carried the Biennial’s more conceptual edge—works that leaned into structural questions, social tensions, and the fragility of the systems we rely on. Some pieces pushed directly into political territory; others used abstraction or found materials to gesture at broader anxieties of the present moment. The building itself, with its rough brick and narrow corridors, held these tensions beautifully. I lingered over a few installations that used repetition and rhythm, as though they were trying to carve order out of instability. It was the venue that felt most like a conversation—sometimes uncomfortable, sometimes surprising, always in motion.

Address: Lüleci Hendek Cd. No:12, Tophane, Beyoğlu

18th Istanbul Biennial – Additional Venues Along the Route

September 20 – November 23, 2025

The Biennial’s remaining stops along the Beyoğlu-Karaköy path—smaller hans, restored workshop floors, and transitional spaces—each contributed a brief but meaningful moment. Some held single-channel videos looping quietly; others focused on archival gestures, small objects, or installations exploring the precariousness of present-day life. Moving between them gave shape to the Biennial’s overall tone: a mixture of resilience, tenderness, and the uneven rhythm reflected in the three-legged cat that inspired this edition.

Address: Various venues across Beyoğlu and Karaköy