Nazy Nazhand has been appointed Arts & Culture director of ISTANBUL’74 and is curating the 15th anniversary edition of IST.FESTIVAL in Istanbul, running from October 10-12. The festival, founded by Demet Müftüoğlu-Eşeli and Alphan Eşeli, adopts the theme “What Is Really Real?” and features public art installations, conversations, and performances. Participants include Jeff Koons, Flavin Judd, Stefan Sagmeister, Lou Doillon, Kid Cudi, and CULTURED editor-at-large Julia Halperin. The main exhibition will take place in the historic Arnavutköy neighborhood along the Bosphorus.
This year’s festival matters because it addresses urgent contemporary issues—artificial intelligence, rising authoritarianism, and the blurring of fact and fiction—through cross-disciplinary dialogue. Nazhand’s expertise in emerging art scenes and sociopolitical discourse brings a timely curatorial vision to the event, reinforcing IST.FESTIVAL’s role as a platform for cultural exchange that transcends borders and disciplines.