Mahalla Festival

02/10/2026

01/10/2026

ONE LAST ASSEMBLY · SON BİR BULUŞMA

After two weeks of art, encounters, performances and collective making, Mahalla KĪMIYĀ – The Alchemists’ Assembly comes together one last time at Büyük Valide Han.

Come and meet the artists, walk through the Han, discover works created in dialogue with its craftspeople, listen, participate – and join the assembly.

🎶 Ocarina Concert
🚶 Artist Walks & Talks
🔔 ZIL for All
🕳️ Interactive Artworks
✨ Performances, music & encounters

Every encounter changes the assembly.
Every voice changes the assembly.
Every bird changes the assembly.

🇹🇷 İki haftalık sanat, karşılaşma, performans ve birlikte üretimin ardından Mahalla KĪMIYĀ son kez Büyük Valide Han’da bir araya geliyor.

Sanatçılarla tanışın, Han’ı birlikte keşfedin, ustalarla birlikte üretilen işleri görün, dinleyin, katılın ve meclisin bir parçası olun.

📍 Büyük Valide Han, Istanbul
🗓 3 October / 3 Ekim 2026
⏰ 15:00–19:00

🎟 Free Entry / Giriş Ücretsiz
❤️ Come by. Bring friends. Join the Assembly.
Gelin. Arkadaşlarınızı getirin. Meclise katılın.

Mahalla KĪMIYĀ is realized with the support of İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB), Austrian Cultural Forum Istanbul, the Austrian Federal Ministry of Housing, Arts, Culture, Media and Sport, and Arts Council Malta.

Mahalla is a member of MagiC Carpets, co-funded by the European Union’s Creative Europe programme.

In collaboration with Pilot Galeri · Moj’art · D’Lİ

01/10/2026

Invitation to the Final Events of the Mahalla-Festival on October 3 band 7 pm etween 3 pm at Büyük Valide Han on October 3 - https://mailchi.mp/diyalog-der.eu/mahalla-festival-murmuration-13859862

27/09/2026

Four more Days!!! Join us at the WOMEN’S CORRIDOR ✨
Interactive Art activity’s, closing event 03.10.2026., Join us for the Ocarina Concert, talk to the artists, get part of the Alchemists assembly. 🌿
Women meeting women.
Listening. Sharing. Standing together.
At Mahalla KĪMIYĀ, women’s voices run throughout the exhibition — across generations, countries and very different experiences.
Against femicide and violence against women.
In solidarity with Woman, Life, Freedom.
For the right to live, speak, create, move and be visible.
It was wonderful to welcome women from the International Women’s Club Istanbul into this space and see new conversations and connections emerge.
Because solidarity is something we can mobilize.
Across borders. Across differences. Together.
Women. Life. Freedom.
Care. Visibility. Solidarity. ✊🏽🌺
Magic Carpets Wrocławski Instytut Kultury Jam Factory Art Center Arts Council Malta Sabine Küper-Büsch Österreichisches Kulturforum Istanbul / Avusturya Kültür AIR Wro Mathilde Melek An Charlene Gálea Talin

25/09/2026

✨ FRIDAY IN THE WOMEN’S CORRIDOR
Movement · Rhythm · Light
This Friday, come and spend an afternoon with us in one of the most atmospheric corners of Büyük Valide Han.
At 13:00, Charlene Galea returns with Tear Drops – Stray City — a performance moving through the Han with the body, vulnerability and tears.
At 14:00, Bendirzen Mihriban Güvenç brings the deep rhythms of the bendir into the corridor, connecting us with a living musical tradition.
And throughout the afternoon, Marlene Hausegger’s Kösem Sultan’s Light transforms the space through light.
Three artistic practices meet in one corridor: performance, rhythm and light.
Come follow the performance, listen to the bendir, discover the installation — or simply wander through KĪMIYĀ and stay awhile. ✨
📅 Friday, 25 September · from 13:00
📍 Women’s Corridor · Büyük Valide Han
🎟 Free admission
KĪMIYĀ – The Alchemist’s Assembly continues until 3 October, daily 13:00–19:00, except Sundays. Mahalla
Full programme and event details: https://mahalla.inenart.eu/2026/09/23/ceramic-workshop-with-laura-gizicka-2/

24/09/2026

Programme · September 25th – 26th

Fire · Water · Earth · Metal · Breath · Light

We are very pleased to invite you to the ongoing program of this years Mahalla-Festival

KĪMIYĀ is transformation. At Büyük Valide Han, it begins with what is already here: metal in the hands of a craftsman, clay shaped around breath, a vibration travelling through old walls, a found object, a gesture, a tear, a sudden reflection of light.

https://mahalla.inenart.eu/2026/09/23/ceramic-workshop-with-laura-gizicka-2/

23/09/2026

FRIDAY IN THE WOMEN’S CORRIDOR

Friday - September 25th, 1:00 pm - 7:00 pm

This Friday, the Women’s Corridor at Büyük Valide Han becomes a space of movement, rhythm and light.

At 13:00, Charlene Galea returns with Tear Drops – Stray City, a performance moving through the architecture of the Han with the body, vulnerability and tears.

At 14:00, Bendirzen Mihriban Güvenç invites us into the world of the bendir — an ancient frame drum whose rhythms carry a living musical tradition.

And throughout the corridor, Marlene Hausegger’s Kösem Sultan’s Light illuminates the encounters.

Come, follow the performance, listen to the rhythm, stay awhile.

The Mahalla-Festival will be open daily except Sundays between 1 pm and 7 pm until October 3rd

Realized in cooperation with

21/09/2026

Ceramic Workshop with Laura Gizicka

On September 21 the artist Laura Gizicka from Poland gave a Ceramic Workshop in the frame of the Mahalla-Festival at the Büyük Valide Han in Istanbul which can be visit until October 3rd daily between 1:00 pm and 7:00 pm except Sundays.

In this specialized course, the participants dive into the fascinating world of ceramics to create their very own fully functional, hand-tuned Ocarina—a traditional wind instrument known for its hauntingly beautiful, flute-like sound.



https://mahalla.inenart.eu/

20/09/2026

Opening Ceremony of the Mahalla Festival on September 19 and 20, 2026 at the Büyük Valide Han.

We thank all the participating artists, the craftmen of the Han, the Mahalla Team and the cooperation partners who helped the successful realization of Kīmiyā this Year.

Daily 1:00 pm – 7:00 pm, except Sundays until October 3rd, at Büyük Valide Han.