Istanbul will host a packed program featuring art, music, theater and exhibitions this week, with an international contemporary art fair, concerts by local and international performers and cultural events taking place across the city.
Artweeks Istanbul's Collectors edition will also continue throughout the week at Akaretler Row Houses, featuring selections from the collections of Banu and Hakan Çarmıklı, Öner Kocabeyoğlu and Tansa Mermerci. The event runs through Nov. 8.
The eighth Istanbul Fringe Festival brings theater, dance and performance art to venues across the city through Sept. 26, alongside workshops, talks and other gatherings.
The 15th Beyoğlu Antiquarian Book Fair, running through Sept. 27 at the Old French Orphanage, will feature booksellers and antiquarian book stalls as well as book signings, talks and musical performances.
The 36th Akbank Jazz Festival begins Sept. 26 and runs through Oct. 11. Opening weekend will feature performances by Corda Quintet, Danae Palaka, Joe Armon-Jones and Momoko Gill, along with talks on jazz.
The sixth Istanbul International Chamber Music Festival will conclude Sept. 24 with a concert at Kadıköy Municipality Sureyya Opera House. The festival also includes free master classes and talks.
Istanbul Oktoberfest will take place Sept. 26-27 at LifePark, featuring music, traditional food, games, competitions and other activities.
Music
Harbiye Cemil Topuzlu Open-Air Theater will continue its concert series with Mabel Matiz performing Sept. 22-23, followed by Askin Nur Yengi on Sept. 25, Gulsen on Sept. 26 and Zara on Sept. 27.
At Küçükçiftlik Park, U.S. rapper and producer Metro Boomin will perform Sept. 22, followed by Turkish rock singer Sebnem Ferah on Sept. 24.
British singer of Azerbaijani descent Sami Yusuf, known for his blend of Middle Eastern and Western musical traditions, will perform at the Istanbul Congress Center's Harbiye Auditorium on Sept. 27-28.
The Ataturk Cultural Center (AKM) will host the British Royal Philharmonic Orchestra on Sept. 25-26.
The Istanbul State Opera and Ballet will perform Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 at the Ataturk Cultural Center's Türk Telekom Opera Hall on Sept. 23 as part of its new season.
Amadeus Mozart Hologram Experience will bring the life and music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to the stage at Beyoğlu Sahne on Sept. 26, combining holographic technology with a live string quartet.
Exhibitions
Borusan Contemporary's new-season exhibitions "Time Space Geometry" and "Perili" will remain open through Aug. 15, 2027.
The exhibition "HERITAGE – The Future Takes Shape in the Footsteps of the Past" opens Sept. 26 at Ciragan Palace Kempinski Istanbul.
"Kameranın Ölumü" ("The Death of the Camera"), a solo exhibition by director and artist Alkan Avcıoğlu featuring works produced with artificial intelligence tools, will run through Oct. 31.
"Memories of Military Comradeship," tracing the history of Turkish-Hungarian military relations, will be on display at the Liszt Institute-Hungarian Cultural Center through Oct. 9.
"Two Brushes, One Harmony," an exhibition of traditional Turkish illumination art by Ayse Gülcan Özbalak and Zeynep Üstün, will continue at the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce's Yeni Cami Hünkar Kasrı through Sept. 30.
The "Şerif Muhiddin Targan Exhibition," featuring the personal belongings of the renowned Turkish oud and cello virtuoso, composer and painter, will run at the Beyazıt Manuscript Library through Dec. 9.
"The Accessible Gaza Art Gatherings" group exhibition, organized to support people who have lost limbs in Gaza, will run through Sept. 27 at the Birlik Foundation Headquarters Exhibition Hall, alongside workshops.
"Temas" ("Contact"), an exhibition focusing on the work of Giulio Mongeri, the architect behind Istanbul's historic Karaköy Palas building, will continue at Karaköy Palas through Oct. 1.