This week in Istanbul, art lovers can enjoy an impressive line-up of concerts, exhibitions and theatre performances showcasing the city’s dynamic cultural scene.
Highlights include the Bolshoi Ballet and Orchestra’s timeless Romeo and Juliet on 26 and 27 September at the Atatürk Cultural Centre (AKM), which also hosts Les Misérables on 28 September. Aydınlıoğlu takes the stage on 24 September at the Maximum Uniq open-air venue.
Zorlu Performing Arts Center (Zorlu PSM) offers a varied programme, including Masonn (Walls) on 25 September and two plays, Shards of Glass Facing the Sun and The Miser, on 28 September. Waltz, Waltz, Waltz is staged on 24 September at ENKA Sanat.
In music, there are many concerts on offer. British act Barry Can’t Swim performs on 26 September and legendary German metal band Blind Guardian on 27 September at Zorlu PSM. The 35th Akbank Jazz Festival continues on 27 September with the Nilüfer Verdi Trio (Tunes for Peace) and İlhan Erşahin’s Istanbul Sessions. On 28 September Maya Perest and Kind of Six, and Italian band Cosimo and The Hot Coals, play at Babylon.
The historic Harbiye Cemil Topuzlu Open-Air Theatre hosts Mario Frangoulis on 24 September, celebrated singer Candan Erçetin on 24 and 25 September to mark her 30th year on stage, Erol Evgin on 26 September, Dire Straits Legacy on 27 September and Gipsy Kings by André Reyes on 28 September. Fans of Turkish music can catch Cengiz Kurtoğlu on 26 September at Masal Ataşehir and Bülent Ersoy on 27 September.
The Atatürk Cultural Centre also hosts the TRT Istanbul Radio Light Music and Jazz Orchestra on 24 September, Levent Yüksel on 27 September and rapper Ceza on 28 September.
In the visual arts, the exhibition One and Many, curated by Ayşegül İkinci Odabaşı, is on at the Nusret Çolpan Art Gallery. The Türkiye İş Bankası Museum of Painting and Sculpture continues its new exhibition Side by Side until 10 July 2026. The Istanbul Museum of Painting and Sculpture is showing the second chapter of the history of Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, titled The Academy Era.
Photography lovers can visit Robert Capa’s exhibition The Truth Is the Best Picture at the Ara Güler Museum at Bomontiada, running until 22 March 2026. Pera Museum is holding two exhibitions, Shared Feelings and A Verse Written with Earth, Fire, Water and Air. American artist Suzanne Lacy’s solo show Together/Togæther is on at the Sakıp Sabancı Museum, and visitors can see Nilbar Güreş’s Velvet Gaze on the second floor of Arter.
Galata Tower continues its historic exhibitions, with the current show In the Same Spirit: From Hezarfen’s Time running on the tower’s third floor until 1 October. Finally, the exhibition A Hundred Bright Istanbuls is at Bilgi University’s santralistanbul Energy Museum until 21 November.
