“Panorama: Dreams and Places” exhibition opens with the support of ON Digital Banking

A panoramic view of contemporary photography at Istanbul Modern

Aiming to present a thematic narrative of contemporary photography and lens-based art in Türkiye, the “Panorama: Dreams and Places” exhibition meets audiences at Istanbul Modern from February 19 to October 18, 2026. The exhibition is realized with the support of ON Digital Banking, the digital banking brand of Burgan Bank, which has sponsored Istanbul Modern’s photography exhibitions since the opening of the museum’s new building.

As the first group exhibition devoted to photography in Istanbul Modern’s new building, “Panorama: Dreams and Places” presents a comprehensive selection of works produced since 2010s by 18 artists from different generations. Bringing together the galleries on the museum’s first floor, the exhibition invites visitors to rethink how we relate to the world through dreamlike landscapes, fictional portraits, and alternative conceptions of space. The exhibition is curated by Istanbul Modern’s Artistic Director Çelenk Bafra and Photography Curator Demet Yıldız Dinçer, with the assistance of Selen Erkal and Şevval Yürüten from the museum’s curatorial department.

Artists Larissa Araz, İlgen Arzık, Emre Baykal, Silva Bingaz, Hasan Deniz, Umut Erbaş, Cem Ersavcı, Ece Gökalp, Cemre Yeşil Gönenli, Ege Kanar, Zeynep Kayan, Metehan Özcan, Yusuf Sevinçli, İrem Sözen, Selim Süme, Kerem Uzel, Begüm Yamanlar, and Cansu Yıldıran offer a multilayered range of practices from installations and moving image to AI-based applications and archival materials. By questioning the possibilities of photography and lens-based art, the exhibition shows how contemporary artists can not only reflect what is happening in the world but also construct new emotional and spatial images.

New Works and Commissions

Many of the artists are presenting new works and site-specific installations produced specifically for “Panorama: Dreams and Places,” meeting audiences for the first time. Approaching photography and lens-based art as a field that can, when needed, be cut, reassembled, placed side by side, and completed through the viewer, the artists open a broad conceptual terrain ranging from personal archives to AI-based image generation, from ecological perspectives to relationships formed with different modes of existence. This interdisciplinary approach is also reflected in the exhibition’s structure: rather than being confined to the Photography Gallery, it is conceived on a scale that spans multiple galleries across the museum’s first floor.

Dream Library

Launched in the foyer of the exhibition, the “Dream Library” deepens the show’s conceptual framework through a curated selection of photography books and the exhibition catalogues. Conceived as a causy reading space overlooking the Bosphorus, it offers a welcoming pause within the visit – slowing the pace of the exhibition and making room for rest, reflection, and imagination.

The First Group Photography Exhibition in the New Building

Highlighting the exhibition’s significance for the museum, Oya Eczacıbaşı, Chair of the Board of Istanbul Modern said: “‘Panorama: Dreams and Places’ is the first group exhibition devoted to photography in our new museum building. Works produced since 2010 by artists from different generations respond to the social and cultural upheavals of today’s world through dreams and alternative visualities, opening up spaces where visitors can breathe and think anew.”

Long-term support for the arts

Aslı Koçer, General Manager of Burgan Yatırım, said they are delighted and proud to have supported the museum’s photography exhibitions in its new building from day one: “Our long-term collaborations with leading cultural institutions in Türkiye, such as Istanbul Modern, play an important role in enabling art to reach wider audiences. The exhibition ‘Panorama: Dreams and Places’ brings together contemporary photography and lens-based works by artists from different generations, offering a chance to reimagine the world. This approach also aligns with the innovative and dynamic spirit of ON Digital, our bank’s digital banking brand. We aim to continue our support for culture and the arts in the period ahead, further strengthening the impact of the bond we have built with art.”

Between dreams and places

In the exhibition, “dreams” and “places” are conceived not as opposing realms, but as two intellectual planes in constant contact – transforming one another and, at times, coming into conflict. Artistic Director of Istanbul Modern Çelenk Bafra summarizes the approach as follows: “Rather than defining the content of a single exhibition, ‘Panorama’ serves as an umbrella title for a series of research-driven group exhibitions that we hope will continue in the coming years around different sub-themes. While our first exhibition attempts to sketch a panorama of photography and lens-based practices in Türkiye – primarily over the last decade – it also explores how these practices are reshaping the ways we imagine, relate to space, and rethink reality today. The exhibition took shape as part of an approach that opens up new spaces of production for artists from different generations, encouraging experiments with varied modes of display and narration. In this context, the concept of ‘panorama’ does not evoke a unified, all-encompassing view; rather, it calls up viewpoints that are fragile, fragmented, and constantly shifting. Instead of presenting the viewer with a finished whole, the exhibition invites them to move between images, pause, and reconstruct their own gaze.”

Shedding light on a global shift

Demet Yıldız Dinçer, Istanbul Modern’s Photography Curator, also draws attention to how photography today has evolved into a practice that exceeds the limits of the still image: “‘Panorama: Dreams and Places’ remains closely grounded in artists’ lived experiences, while also shedding light on global transformations in lens-based art. For the artists in the exhibition, imagined landscapes and spaces emerge not as choices reduced to representing social, psychological, or temporal disarray, but as aesthetic and conceptual strategies that make it possible to negotiate uncertainty. In this sense, dreams and places take shape as intellectual fields grounded in lived experience, fields that keep future possibilities open,” she said.

New publication

The exhibition catalogue for “Panorama: Dreams and Places” includes texts and essays by Çelenk Bafra and Demet Yıldız Dinçer, as well as Refik Akyüz, Serdar Darendeliler, and Orhan Cem Çetin, members of Istanbul Modern Photography Advisory Board. Published in Turkish and English, the catalogue offers photographs, rendered images and texts on the participating artists and works, providing audiences with an opportunity to deepen their experience of the exhibition.

 Panorama Talks

Running in parallel with “Panorama: Dreams and Places,” Panorama Talks brings together the fields of photography and contemporary art. Panorama Talks aim to create a platform where artists and curators can share and discuss their conception, production, and installation processes with audiences, fostering dialogue around contemporary photography and lens-based art in Türkiye.

Panorama Talks I will be held on Friday, February 20, 2026, at 18:00, led by Çelenk Bafra with exhibition artists Larissa Araz, Ece Gökalp, and Cansu Yıldıran, in the event rooms on the first floor of Istanbul Modern. Panorama Talks II will take place on Thursday, March 12, 2026, at 18:00, with Hasan Deniz, Metehan Özcan, and Cemre Yeşil Gönenli, moderated by Demet Yıldız Dinçer.

  “Panorama: Dreams and Places” is on view until October 18, 2026.