Fifteen Years Ago, Before Influencers and Instagram

In 2010, when Demet Müftüoğlu Eşeli and Alpan Eşeli, the founding couple behind Istanbul-based cultural platform ISTANBUL'74, conceived the first IST.FESTIVAL, the world looked very different. The profession of influencer didn't exist, Instagram hadn't been invented, and social media was still in its infancy.

The inaugural festival, then called 'Istancool,' featured luminaries such as Zaha Hadid, Gore Vidal, and Franca Sozzani, editor-in-chief of Vogue Italia. Gareth Pugh and Kim Jones were emerging talents just beginning their careers. Sadly, many of the original participants have since passed away.

The Question: 'What Is Really Real?'

IST.FESTIVAL 15, held from October 10-12, 2025, centered on the theme 'What Is Really Real?' In an era of unstable markets, rising authoritarianism, and AI fundamentally transforming creative processes, this question has become increasingly urgent.

"We live in a time when everything appears to be something, yet nothing feels real. We scroll, perform, create, and edit our own realities," Alpan Eşeli said in his opening remarks. "And art is perhaps still the only place that touches our instincts—more than ever before."

A Neighborhood Exhibition Along the Bosphorus

The festival launched with 'Nearness,' a neighborhood exhibition that transformed the entire area around ISTANBUL'74's Arnavutköy gallery into an exhibition space.

New York-based artist Sherry Hovhsepian projected her 2018 work 'The Difference Between Signals'—a video of two hands—onto the orange metal shutters of a street-level shop. A few doors down, a tapestry by Turkish artist Nancy Atakan hung in front of a butcher shop.

Inside the gallery, Jose Parlá presented new paintings and amphora installations inspired by Arabic calligraphy and local ceramics. Ben Frost's sound installation and Freeman & Lowe and Johan Kugelberg's reading & listening space also drew attention. On the second floor, Turkish artist Lal Batman unveiled a five-panel altarpiece blending mythology and fantasy—a kaleidoscopic work filled with gazing faces, jewels, plants, and animals.

Jeff Koons's Question: Can AI Fear Death?

In the weekend's opening conversation, Jeff Koons spoke with Timothy Berekiya: "AI doesn't yet have the capacity to fear death or experience joy. I hope this technology challenges us to define what biological experience truly is and teaches us to experience our senses at a higher level."

Graphic designer Stefan Sagmeister, who created album covers for Jay-Z, Talking Heads, and the Rolling Stones, told Julia Halperin: "I've seen some decent work made with AI. When I looked into it, those people were making good work before AI too. And the people who made terrible things before are still making terrible things."

What 15 Years of Journey Has Left Behind [AI Analysis]

The 15-year history of IST.FESTIVAL represents not merely a series of art events, but a process of documenting the changes of our times through art. From an era without influencers and social media to today when AI encroaches on the realm of creation, this festival has consistently posed the question: "Can art still touch our instincts?"

Looking ahead, IST.FESTIVAL will likely continue to function as a platform exploring 'what is really real' in an age where the boundaries between technology and art grow ever more blurred. However, the festival's sustainability will depend not simply on inviting famous artists, but on how deeply it connects with the local community. Initiatives like the Nearness exhibition, which transformed an entire neighborhood into exhibition space, exemplify this approach.