The Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV) has appointed Christine Tohmé as the curator for the 18th Istanbul Biennial, which will take place in three phases over three years from 2025 to 2027. According to the Biennial Foundation, this edition was postponed from 2024 by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV). This Biennial remains Türkiye's largest international exhibition dedicated to contemporary art, offering a significant platform for artists globally. Titled The Three-Legged Cat and will unfold in three distinct phases, exploring themes of self-preservation and futurity, reflecting Tohmé's curatorial approach of engaging deeply with artistic production and local communities.
Christine Tohmé, a prominent figure in arts curation and community building, is the founder of Ashkal Alwan in Beirut and is known for initiatives that advance artistic practices and arts education. Her curatorial work has received numerous accolades, including the UNESCO-Sharjah Prize for Arab Culture and the CCS Bard Audrey Irmas Award for Curatorial Excellence. Tohmé's curatorial practice emphasizes the importance of collaboration and engagement with local communities, aligning well with the Biennial's evolving format.
The first leg, scheduled from 20 September to 23 November 2025, will feature works by over 40 artists alongside a public program of performances, screenings, and talks. The Biennial will be free and centered on themes of self-preservation and futurity. The second leg, in 2026, will focus on establishing an academy and collaborating with local initiatives through a series of public programs. The third and final phase, from 18 September to 14 November 2027, will bring together the experiences and dialogues from the previous years, culminating in exhibitions and workshops.
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Unveiling the 15 Most Significant Architectural Events of 2025I have found working in the arts to be most transformative, not only in moments of formal presentation but, more importantly, during its production—in the creative process, everyday exchanges, openings, studio visits, and reading groups. Therefore, the 18th Istanbul Biennial should invest as much in the production process as in its presentation. The extended timeframe of three years will allow the Biennial to engage more deeply with the local scene and foster projects and collaborations around collective questions, contexts, and communities. --Christine Tohmé
Since its inception, the Istanbul Biennial has been hosted at various iconic sites around the city, including the Hagia Sophia Museum and the Bosphorus Bridge, providing artists with unique spaces to present site-specific works. Under the curatorship of Christine Tohmé, the Biennial will continue to explore new perspectives within both historic and contemporary contexts.
In other similar news, the Tallinn Architecture Biennale 2024 has officially opened to the public. Hosted at the Museum of Estonian Architecture and across multiple venues in the center of the city, the event is centered around the theme "Resources For a Future." In Jeddah, The Diriyah Biennale Foundation has revealed the theme and title for the 2025 Islamic Arts Biennale: And all that is in between, exploring how faith is experienced, expressed, and celebrated through the acts of feeling, thinking, and making. Finally, the Beta Architecture Biennial opened to the public on September 13, under the curatorial direction of Oana Stănescu, in Timișoara, Romania.
Editor's Note: This article was originally published on November 3, 2024, and updated on February 27, 2025.
