Wind and Rain from All Directions: 19th Istanbul Biennial Open Call for Wartime Art

About this call

The curators of the 19th Istanbul Biennial in Istanbul, Türkiye, Liu Ding and Carol Yinghua Lu, invite work and proposals from artists who are living through or have lived through war, and who reflect on it with criticality and care. The open call is part of their ongoing research to select the artists who will participate in the biennial. Applicants submit a project proposal that directly addresses the themes of the invitation text, plus a portfolio, through SlideRoom. Selected artists will be invited for further conversations, in person or online, and results are expected in February 2027.

Who can apply

• Open to applicants of any nationality
• Medium: Installation / Performance / Video / Painting / Photography / Sculpture / Drawing / Mixed Media
• Entry fee: See official site
• Open to artists from Türkiye and abroad working across all disciplines who are living through or have lived through war; projects must be art-focused, and applicants whose professional practice intersects with the arts and is grounded in artistic practice may apply. Groups and collectives may submit a single application. Applicants must be over 18 (students over 18 may apply). Applications in English or Turkish only, with all files uploaded to the designated fields of the SlideRoom form; email submissions are not considered. Project proposal directly addressing the themes of the invitation text, up to 3,500 characters excluding spaces (max 10 MB), and a portfolio of previous work and experience (max 100 MB); PDF preferred. More than one project is allowed, all in a single PDF in the same application. Video works as links in the PDF with any password, title and date of creation. Ongoing projects and previously shown work are eligible. Applicants may be contacted for an interview; results by email, expected in February 2027, with no individual feedback. The pages do not mention an application fee.