Overview
- The Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts said the 18th edition will conclude after its first leg following Tohmé’s resignation for personal reasons.
- The initial exhibition, The Three-Legged Cat, ran from September 20 to November 23 across eight venues in Istanbul and drew more than 600,000 visitors.
- Tohmé had planned a three-part program spanning three years, including an academic strand in 2026 and a second exhibition in 2027, which will no longer proceed.
- The curtailed edition follows a disputed 2023 curator selection in which the advisory board’s choice, Defne Ayas, was rejected before Iwona Blazwick’s brief appointment and resignation preceded Tohmé’s selection.
- IKSV said preparations for the 19th Istanbul Biennial, scheduled for 2027, will start in the coming days, with the curator to be announced after advisory board meetings in 2026.