Mardin Biennial in Turkey – an art experience in historical settings

Text and photo: Helena Bergström

The Mardin Biennial is a recurring international art festival held in the southeastern corner of Turkey. The festival showcases contemporary art – in beautiful historical settings.

7th Mardin Biennial: SKYground

For the seventh time in a row, the event is being organized Mardin Biennial in the city Mardin in southeastern Turkey. A biennial is an exhibition that is arranged every two years and this year's theme is "SKYground".

By placing the words ”sky” and ”ground” next to each other – two words that together constitute the horizon – one opens up two opposing perspectives and stories.

Artists from 20 countries

The artists exhibiting this year – a total of 42 – come from 20 different countries. In addition to Turkey, the USA, Chile, China, Algeria, Spain, Poland and Palestine are represented, among others. The Biennale runs this year from May 15 to June 21, 2026.

Art in historic places

For the first time, the art during the biennial will be displayed not only in the old town of Mardin, but also in historical sites around the region. In this way, visitors will have the opportunity to get acquainted with a wide range of exciting places, while at the same time framing contemporary art in a very effective way.

The entire area can be described as an open-air museum, and with the art ”on top” another layer of experiences is created. We explored art in a few different places:

Sakip Sabanci Mardin City Museum

The entire art festival opened at the Sakip Sabanci Mardin City Museum, showcasing art by a variety of artists. We were greeted by everything from scorpions that seemed to float on the ceiling to textile art and films about ecological destruction.

Caravanserai

Right next to the museum we visited Kervansaray, where we also saw a small number of artworks, some of which were inspired by birds. A caravanserai is a building along a trade route, which in the past offered accommodation and protection for traveling merchants.

The ancient city of Dara

The ancient city of Dara was established in the 6th century by the Eastern Roman Emperor Anastasius. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see much of the historic cave city - where art is also on display - but we did go down into the deep old water cistern. Incredibly fascinating!

Down in the cistern, both physical artworks and art that combines sound and light are displayed. The historical site, in combination with the artworks, really gets under your skin.

Deyrulzafaran Monastery

The so-called ”Saffron Monastery” is a Syriac Orthodox monastery whose foundation was created around 2000 BC, as a sun temple. This monastery is well worth a visit even without art, but in connection with the Mardin Art Biennial, we of course had another reason to look around.

We were most fascinated by the leopards on the monastery facade, created by Vahap Avsar (Turkey). The Inutu temple was met with other delicious works – everything from film to mirror effects.

Kiziltepe Ates Beyler Hammam

In the Kiziltepe district, the most populated part of Mardin, there is a hammam that is no longer used as a bath. This building is not historic in the same way as some of the other places, but it is really nice as an exhibition space.

Each small stone room – where the attributes of the bath remain – houses its own artistic experience. Sound, light, emotions… we really appreciated this visit!

Even more art in Mardin

In conjunction with the Mardin Biennial, local art galleries are putting on exciting exhibitions. We visited the Arura restaurant, with its accompanying art gallery, among others. How wonderful to visit a historic city where there is art just about everywhere!

More to see and experience in Mardin

We enjoyed the Mardin Biennial very much, but for us the greatest experience was the experience itself the visit to Mardin and the smaller town Midyat. Mardin is a beautiful city in Turkey, and the history makes it very special. We also found it fascinating to visit a city that may not be that well-known in Sweden – while at the same time having a lot to offer.

This trip was a press trip arranged by Go Türkiye. All thoughts and opinions as always our own!