Welcome to Al-Monitor Istanbul.

This week, we delve into the 18th edition of Istanbul Biennial — “The Three-Legged Cat” — which has just arrived in town with a roar amid the grim state of global affairs including wars, injustices and abuse.

Backed up with a strong public program, it runs free of charge from Sept. 20 to Nov. 23 across eight venues. Consider this slightly longer newsletter our first take and a guide to what not to miss in the weeks ahead.

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Thanks for reading,

Nazlan (@NazlanEr on X)

P.S. Have tips on Istanbul’s culture scene? Send them my way at nertan@al-monitor.com.

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1. Leading the week: Middle East at heart

Khalil Rabah’s “Red Navigapparate” at the French Orphanage, enjoyed by the biennial’s namesakes (IKSV photo)

It was no accident that the opening press conference of the 18th Istanbul Biennial, the crown jewel of the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV), unfolded beside the work of Khalil Rabah, the Palestinian artist born in Jerusalem and based in Ramallah, who could not come to the biennial. His installation, “Red Navigapparate,” lines up a hundred red barrels, each cradling a sapling of olive, citrus or nut tree, to form a provisional nursery alongside a water channel and pallet jack on marble, transforming the orphanage garden into a charged landscape of displacement and resilience.

“The Three-Legged Cat,” a salute to........

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