The international event will take place from 13 to 16 May 2026 in the Turkish city and will bring together designers, artists and thinkers from around the world, further establishing its reputation as a global cultural and creative destination.
The Global Design Forum İstanbul will be held in the city for the first time from 13 to 16 May 2026, reinforcing its role as a meeting point for the global design community. The forum, which has been organised for over 15 years by the Victoria & Albert Museum as part of the London Design Festival, is coming to Istanbul with the support of the Turkish Tourism Promotion and Development Agency and other international partners, with the aim of showcasing the potential of the country’s creative industries on a global stage.
With a proven track record as a host of major cultural events, Istanbul has established itself as one of the leading international creative hubs. The city boasts an infrastructure comprising 41 conference centres, 225 art galleries and design programmes at 27 universities, and hosts more than twenty international art and design events annually, reinforcing its ability to attract talent and professionals from the sector.
The Istanbul edition of this international design event, curated by Melek Zeynep Bulut, is structured around the concept of ‘site-specificity’ and is conceived as an experience that transcends the traditional conference format to become ‘a performance within the city’. Over four days, the programme will unfold in different layers connecting spaces, professionals and the public.
One of the main themes will be “Placemaking”, which will bring temporary design installations to the Topkapı Palace complex and various locations on the Historic Peninsula. These interventions, developed in collaboration with local and international universities and design studios, will transform the city into an open-air creative laboratory. Furthermore, under the “Rethinking” concept, an international competition will be held focused on reinterpreting the culture of Istanbul’s gardens.
Furthermore, the “İstanbullar” programme will introduce a participatory dimension through an interactive network where local creatives can contribute visual, audio and editorial content. The forum will be structured around the theme “Worlds in Contact”, which will address the role of design in a context of interconnected global crises, through two days of conferences, presentations and debates with international and local experts.
Beyond the event itself, Istanbul reaffirms its status as a key destination for travellers interested in culture and design. Its identity, shaped by the convergence of civilisations, blends historical heritage, craftsmanship and contemporary creativity, complemented by a packed cultural calendar featuring events such as the Istanbul Biennial, Contemporary Istanbul, the Istanbul Music Festival, CI Bloom and the Istanbul Film Festival. In this context, the city invites visitors to explore at a leisurely pace, where iconic monuments and up-and-coming neighbourhoods coexist with innovative offerings, shaping a diverse and constantly evolving cultural scene.
About the TURKEY TOURISM PROMOTION AND DEVELOPMENT AGENCY (TGA)
TGA works to ensure that Türkiye is a recognised brand in national and international tourism, to promote Türkiye’s tangible and intangible, natural, cultural, biological and man-made heritage, and to engage in short-, medium- and long-term communication and marketing activities, with the aim of increasing the contribution of tourism investment to the national economy and improving the quality of service in tourism.
TGA is responsible for carrying out all promotional, marketing and communication activities to help Türkiye achieve its tourism objectives, promote and market existing tourism resources worldwide, and identify, develop and make potential tourism resources available online, in line with the tourism strategies and policies drawn up by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
Source: COMUNICACIÓN IBEROAMERICANA