Exhibitions in Istanbul
September 2026
September 2026 at a glance: 6 exhibitions opened, 0 closed, and 7 more were on view across the city.
Opened in September
15 Years at Salt: Exhibition Posters16 SeptSALT BeyoğluFree
A ground-floor installation of posters made for Salt's exhibitions over 15 years, showing shifts in graphic design and individual designers' approaches.
Across the Seas: Özer Kabaş and His Times16 SeptSALT BeyoğluFree
Paintings, prints, jewellery, film and archive material tracing artist and educator Özer Kabaş (1934-1998) and his place in Turkey's cultural history.
Haunted19 SeptBorusan Contemporary
Collection show on being human in a posthuman world, framed by the Sphinx's riddle, with kinetic, data-driven and AI works by teamLab, Memo Akten and others.
Time Space Geometry19 SeptBorusan Contemporary
Olivo Barbieri's solo show of five photo series using optical interventions and aerial views, from Anatolian sites to Istanbul, waterfalls and the Alps.
Frank Bowling: Creation and Destruction29 SeptPera Museum
Frank Bowling's paintings alongside works by Francis Bacon and Victor Willing, including the Map series and a 2026 work, shown partly for the first time in Istanbul.
Behind the Camera of the Republic29 SeptPera Museum
Flawed and overlooked press photographs of early Republican Istanbul, 1920s to early 1950s, from the Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation archive.
Was on view in September
Semiha Berksoy: Aria of All Colorsto 22 NovIstanbul Modern
Retrospective of the opera singer, actor and painter Semiha Berksoy (1910-2004), with more than 200 works.
- Gathering (Buluşma)to 28 Nov
Elgiz Museum of Contemporary ArtFree
New and long-held works from the Elgiz Collection side by side, from Rebecca Horn and Gilbert & George to Cevdet Erek, in sculpture, painting, video and textile.
- Imprints on the Century: Koç Group and the Artsto 29 Nov
Yapı Kredi Kültür SanatFree
A timeline from the 1920s to today of the Koç Group's role in Turkish culture, told through artworks and archives from its institutional collections.
- Yoko Ono: Insound and Instructureto 27 Dec
Sakıp Sabancı Museum
A retrospective of 67 works over seventy years, from instruction pieces to film and participatory installations, across the galleries, garden and Atlı Köşk.
- Tayfun Erdoğmuş: Atlas 1/137.035999to 3 Jan 2027
Arter
First institutional solo show in Turkey of Tayfun Erdoğmuş, whose work uses plants, minerals and handmade papers. Curated by Eda Berkmen.
- Gökyüzü Şekerdendi (The Sky Was Candy)to 28 Mar 2027
Arter
Group show of 24 artists from the Arter Collection on home and homeland, migration, borders and belonging.
Seyahat Sanatı: From the Sadberk Hanım Museum and Ömer Koç Collectionsto 23 May 2027MeşherFree
Travel accounts, paintings and objects tracing journeys to Ottoman lands from the late 15th to early 20th century and the motives behind them.
Image credits
8
- 15 Years at Salt: Exhibition PostersPhoto: Metean Bars (Salt)
- Across the Seas: Özer Kabaş and His TimesPhoto: Metean Bars (Salt)
- HauntedMemo Akten, Dalgalar 2.0: Toprak, 2023, Borusan Çağdaş Sanat Koleksiyonu
- Time Space GeometryOlivo Barbieri, Efes Türkiye, 2023, Borusan Çağdaş Sanat Koleksiyonu
- Frank Bowling: Creation and DestructionCourtesy of Pera Museum
- Behind the Camera of the RepublicCourtesy of Pera Museum
- Semiha Berksoy: Aria of All ColorsCourtesy of Istanbul Modern
- Seyahat Sanatı: From the Sadberk Hanım Museum and Ömer Koç CollectionsCourtesy of Meşher
Stay in the loop on Istanbul
A short note now and then when something new opens worth your time.