Contributors of 17th Istanbul Biennial announced
Monster Chetwynd’s "Gorgon’s Head Playground" is a permanent sculptural installation from the 16th Istanbul Biennial. (Courtesy of IKSV)


Organized by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV) and supported by 2007-2026 Biennial Sponsor Koç Holding, the 17th Istanbul Biennial will be organized on Sept. 17-Nov. 20 this year. Istanbul’s highly anticipated two-month art event recently announced the list of its contributors.

The event "is the result of more than two years of conversations on projects situated in different parts of the globe," the IKSV said in a statement. It is curated by Ute Meta Bauer, Amar Kanwar and David Teh.

"The 17th Istanbul Biennial asserts not just the power of art to bring diverse communities together, it celebrates the city itself as fertile ground for co-creation and collaboration," said the director of the Istanbul Biennial, Bige Örer.

"We once again affirm the need to come together, in hospitable spaces and with initiatives that defend and revitalize our public cultures, engaging over the long-term with our communities across the city and beyond," Örer added.

Among contributors are video and performance artist from Afghanistan, Lida Abdul; Indonesian artist Arahmaian; the Istanbul-based Hrant Dink Foundation and 23.5 Hrant Dink Site of Memory; Australian-born artist of South African and Mauritian descent Newell Harry; multidisciplinary artist Taloi Havini; Beirut-born visual artist Lamia Joreige; Turkish contemporary artist Gülsün Karamustafa; artist, educationalist and curator Mariah Lookman; Brazilian visual artist Alice Miceli and Thai artist Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook.

Apart from its usual locations such as Pera Museum, the event will introduce new venues including a 130-year-old power plant recently converted into a museum Müze Gazhane; an art space founded by Syrian artists, arthereistanbul, and the atelier of a calligrapher and book-binding artist Barın Han.