212 Photography Istanbul Meets the City for the 9th Time on the Bicentennial of Photography

As one of the most anticipated gatherings of Istanbul’s autumn cultural calendar, 212 Photography Istanbul reconnects the city with photography through its ninth edition from September 26 to October 11. This year’s edition focuses on a historic threshold: the 200th anniversary of photography. The festival brings together artists from diverse geographies around the world, distinct curatorial approaches, and interdisciplinary events in a comprehensive program spread across Istanbul’s art and culture route.

Organized within the scope of the Turkish Culture Route Festival with contributions from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Turkey Tourism Promotion and Development Agency (TGA), 212 Photography Istanbul takes place this year under the title sponsorship of PEUGEOT. Spanning over 25 venues across both sides of the city, the program brings together different forms of photographic expression on a single route, ranging from exhibitions and talks to artist meet-ups and workshops.

Tracing a Bicentennial Perspective

While looking back at the two-hundred-year journey of photography, the 2026 program also opens up a discussion on how this medium has transformed today and how it may gain new meanings in the future. The first step of this year’s festival program was taken with a series of talks held in June, continuing through September and October with exhibitions, discussions, workshops, and special projects.

Among the highlights of the program is the Short & Sweet / A Retrospective Glance exhibition, offering a comprehensive selection from the career spanning over fifty years of Martin Parr, one of the most influential figures in contemporary documentary photography. Yann Arthus-Bertrand, known for his iconic works documenting the world from the sky, is also featured in the festival program with his exhibition The Legacy of a Glance.

An International Network

This year, the festival is collaborating with international institutions such as Magnum Photos, Martin Parr Foundation, Les Rencontres d’Arles, ENSP Arles, and the Mondriaan Fund. Cultural representations of Brazil, the Netherlands, France, Hungary, and Slovakia are also among the festival’s supporters.

First held in 2018, 212 Photography Istanbul approaches photography not merely as an exhibition discipline, but as a memory-forming medium of expression intersecting with cinema, design, publishing, and contemporary art. The countdown to the festival kicked off recently with a gala dinner at The Peninsula Istanbul, bringing together prominent figures from the worlds of culture, art, and fashion.

Frames from the Festival

Visitor Information

Festival exhibitions can be visited between September 26 and October 11 from 11:00 to 20:00. While the festival ticket covers admission to exhibitions, workshops, talks, and other events are not included in the ticket, and visiting days and hours for certain exhibitions may vary. For the up-to-date program and venue information, you can follow the festival’s official channels.