“Like a Midsummer Night’s Dream: Cities Breathe with Art”

ENKA Open Air Theater, one of the most beloved open-air stages in Istanbul, is preparing to have a season full of art lovers between July 3 and September 5. The program will start with a special concert for Fazıl Say’s 50th year in art, and beloved artists such as Pinhâni, Adamlar, Erol Evgin, Şevval Sam and Zuhal Olcay will take the stage. Theater plays “Cimri” and “Saatleri Ayarlama Enstitüsü” starring Serkan Keskin will also meet the audience. Cult productions such as Forrest Gump, The Usual Suspects and Ghost will be brought to the screen again in the open-air cinema. The season will close with the premiere of a documentary focusing on the life of master artist Ferhan Şensoy.

During the same period, Yapı Kredi is starting the new season of the “World Acoustic” concert series at bomontiada. Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, the venue will host Göksel, one of the strong female voices of Turkish pop music, on Friday, June 27.

Istanbul’s summer calendar is not limited to these. The 32nd Istanbul Jazz Festival, which will be held between July 1–17, will bring leading jazz names to every corner of the city under the sponsorship of Garanti BBVA. The concerts, which will take place in venues such as Harbiye Open Air, French Palace, Swissotel, Esma Sultan Mansion and Moda Stage, will feature names such as Chucho Valdés, Hermanos Gutiérrez, Max Richter, Jazzmeia Horn and Meshell Ndegeocello. The festival will be opened by Chucho Valdés, the legendary name of Afro-Cuban jazz, with his Grammy award-winning band on the Harbiye stage.

Another unforgettable night for music lovers will take place on June 26 at the Harbiye Cemil Topuzlu Open Air Theater. The special screening “Empire Strikes Back In Concert” organized for Star Wars fans will be simultaneously performed on a giant screen with the Istanbul Film Orchestra’s 100-person cast. Under the baton of conductor David Mahoney, John Williams’ legendary film music will be performed live; the story of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader will come to life again under the Istanbul sky.

On July 13, Berlin-based Australian music group Parcels will take the stage at KüçükÇiftlik Park. The group, which made an international splash with its collaboration with Daft Punk, the song “Overnight,” will contribute to the summer rhythm of Istanbul with its energetic performance that brings together indie pop, electronic and funk elements.

Zorlu PSM's open-air venue, Vestel Amfi, hosts its audience with a busy program throughout the summer. As of the end of June, names such as Akın Aslan, Görkem Çay, Erol Akıncı and Tuğrul Tülek will take the stage in events ranging from stand-up shows to jazz dance, yoga sessions to open-air cinema. On June 29, Steven Spielberg's Terminal will be shown with Turkish subtitles at Vestel Amfi. Pre-registration is required for participation.

The “Women Stars of Tomorrow” project, launched by the Turkish Industrial Development Bank (TSKB) and the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV) in 2018 to support young musicians, is once again supporting young talents this year. Within the scope of the fund, which has benefited 120 young female musicians to date, 13 artists selected this year took the stage at the Kadıköy Süreyya Opera House. The piece “Çember” by Ceren Türkmenoğlu, composed for the 75th anniversary of TSKB, made its world premiere on this special night.

Within the scope of the support program carried out by Salt, which focuses on artistic research, in collaboration with the BBVA Foundation, two new projects were given a grant of 20 thousand Euros. Güneş Terkol’s “Layers of a Migration Story”, which she developed with her mother, and Onur Gökmen’s “Subsoil” projects, which focus on the radioactive pollution in the Black Sea after the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, bring together the concepts of memory, migration, environmental justice and archives with artistic narratives. Both projects will meet the audience at Salt in 2026.

Cultural content specially prepared for children for the summer holiday is also drawing attention. D-Smart GO offers an entertaining and educational screen experience with movies such as Paddington, The Angry Birds Movie, The Little Prince, Smurfs and Fairy: The Girl Without a Mouth in its selection titled “Take a Break from School”.

The Izmir-based Olten Philharmonic Art School made a statement on World Music Day, emphasizing the healing power of music and its transformative effect on society. The institution, which provides education to a wide range of age groups from 4 to 70, aims to popularize classical music not only as a performance but also as a culture of life.

In Ankara, the CSO Ada stage is hosting art lovers with a packed calendar throughout the week of June 23-30. “Mızıka-i Himayem” led by Ahmet Baran, the Ankara State Performing Arts Ensemble’s “Yansımalar” dance show, the “Queen for Strings” concert, the Turkish World Music Ensemble’s season closing, “Napolitango” where Neapolitan and tango melodies meet, Coşkun Karademir’s “Ethnic Signals” project and the “Hello to Summer” concert with the Musa Göçmen Symphony Orchestra are among the prominent events spread throughout the week. The children’s group shows, rag doll and recycling workshops to be held at the same center and the “Clown Circus” offer a special program for child audiences.

In the summer months, the stages once again move to the heart of the city. Art turns its way to the open air, concert halls, movies and workshops to transcend daily routines and reunite together in another language. This rich cultural agenda, extending from Istanbul to Ankara, from stage to screen, invites art lovers of all ages throughout the summer.