“Maybe a biennial would come to town”

This chapter aims to comparatively analyse the contemporary art biennials organized outside Istanbul in Turkey in the context of local cultural and urban policies. The biennials/triennials organized in cities such as Sinop (2006–), Antakya (2007–2012), Izmir (2007–), Çanakkale (2008–), Mardin (2010– ) and Adıyaman (2022–) aim to encourage local people to get involved in the art scene and thus break Istanbul’s monopoly on contemporary art. However, most of these art events were not initiated as a natural consequence of the vibrancy of contemporary art in these cities, but rather to stimulate tourism. In many of these cities, where public contemporary art institutions and private initiatives are lacking, the art market is underdeveloped and local cultural policies are neglected, festivals and large-scale artistic events have become a favourite of local politicians. Based on primary documents and interviews with some of the organizers of these biennials, local politicians, and artists, this chapter examines the position of these biennials in the neoliberal transformation of the cultural sphere in Turkey.