Organised by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV) with the support of 2007-2036 Biennial Sponsor Koç Holding, the 19th Istanbul Biennial will take place from 18 September to 14 November 2027. Curated by artist and curator LIU Ding and art historian and curator Carol Yinghua LU, the 19th Istanbul Biennial will have Artİstanbul Feshane as its main venue, with additional venues to be announced at a later date.

As part of their ongoing research for the 19th Istanbul Biennial, the curators invite artists working across all disciplines to submit proposals addressing the impact of war through an open call. Conceived as a space for collective reflection on war and peace, the open call welcomes submissions from artists who have been affected by war in its many forms. The Biennial’s broader conceptual framework, which will also encompass other areas of inquiry, is expected to be announced in December 2026.

Applications will be accepted online at iksv.slideroom.com from Monday, 19 October 2026, until Sunday, 22 November 2026, at 23:59 (Istanbul time, UTC+3).

Open Call for Artist Participation in the 19th Istanbul Biennial

The open call for the 19th Istanbul Biennial aims to deepen a particular line of research within the Biennial’s broader conceptual framework. In their invitation text to artists, the curators state:

“The 19th Istanbul Biennial invites work and proposals from artists who are living through or have lived through war, and who reflect on it with criticality and care. Art cannot end wars or resolve their underlying causes, but it can open spaces for dissent, doubt, and the imagination of alternatives. Looking at war through art carries a historical responsibility, as well as a practical value, since it can keep in view what official accounts leave out. By setting individual recollections aside—and at times against—the memories that communities and states construct, artists can open up nuanced ways of thinking about life under extreme conditions, and about the questions of courage, complicity, ethics, and endurance that war raises.”

Read the curators’ full text outlining this line of research here.

Submission Guidelines

Project Proposal: The proposal should directly address the themes mentioned in the invitation text and must not exceed 3,500 characters, excluding spaces. The file size must not exceed 10 MB.
Portfolio: The portfolio should demonstrate the applicant’s previous work and experience. The file size must not exceed 100 MB.
Online Application Form: iksv.slideroom.com

Note: The open call is open to artists from Türkiye and abroad working across all disciplines. All applications must be submitted in English or Turkish, and all files must be uploaded to the designated fields in the online application form.

Selected artists will be invited for further conversations, either in person or online.

The deadline for submission is 23:59 on 22 November 2026 (Istanbul time, UTC+3).

For more information: ist.biennial@iksv.org

About curators

LIU Ding is an artist and a curator based in Beijing. His artistic and curatorial practice focuses on multiple viewpoints and modes of description, exploring a trajectory of discursive thoughts that connect the historical and the contemporary. His work seeks to broaden possibilities for a more complex understanding of the historical narrative of subjectivity in Chinese art.

Liu Ding has participated in biennales including Busan Biennale (2018), Yinchuan Biennale (2018), Istanbul Biennial (2015), Asia Pacific Triennial (2015), Prospect 3 New Orleans (2014), Shanghai Biennale (2014), Taipei Biennial (2012), Chinese Pavilion, 53rd Venice Biennial (2009), Media City Seoul (2008) and Guangzhou Triennale (2005). Since 2018, Liu Ding has been teaching exhibition display as a visiting professor in NABA Milan.

Carol Yinghua LU is an art historian and a curator. She holds a Doctorate in art history from University of Melbourne. She is the director of Beijing Inside-Out Art Museum. She was the artistic director and senior curator of OCAT, Shenzhen (2012–2015), guest curator at Museion, Bolzano (2013) and the China researcher for Asia Art Archive (2005–2007). She has contributed to artist monologues, catalogues as well as a number of art journals, including e-flux journal, frieze, the Exhibitionist, Yishu, Flash Art, Contemporary, and so on. She was a contributing editor for frieze magazine (2008–2018), chief editor for Chinese edition of Yishu: Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art (2012–2013), co-founder and co-editor of Contemporary Art and Investment magazine (2007-2010). She received Yishu Awards for Critical Writing and Curating on Contemporary Chinese Art (2016).

19th Istanbul Biennial Overview

Organised by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV) with the support of 2007–2036 Biennial Sponsor Koç Holding, the 19th Istanbul Biennial will be open to the public free of charge from 18 September to 14 November 2027, at Artİstanbul Feshane and other venues. Press and professional previews will take place from 14 to 17 September.

The Istanbul Biennial Advisory Board comprises academic, critic and museum director Ahu Antmen; curator Lydia Gatundu Galavu; artist Gözde İlkin; researcher and curator Renan Laru-an, and curator and museum director Sally Tallant.