Liu Ding and Carol Yinghua Lu to Curate 2027 Istanbul Biennial

The Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (ISKV) has appointed Beijing-based artist and curator Liu Ding and art historian, curator, and Inside-Out Art Museum director Carol Yinghua Lu as curators of the 19th Istanbul Biennial, scheduled for 18 September to 14 November 2027. Liu Ding, a visiting professor at NABA Milan, has participated in biennials including Busan (2018), Yinchuan (2018), Istanbul (2015), and the Asia Pacific Triennial (2015), and his work has been shown at M+ Museum Hong Kong (2025), Gwangju Museum of Art (2024), Castello di Rivoli Turin (2020), MAK Vienna (2019), HKW Berlin (2018), MKG Hamburg (2018), and 4A Sydney (2017). Carol Yinghua Lu, director of Inside-Out Art Museum in Beijing, previously served as artistic director and senior curator of OCAT Shenzhen, guest curator at Museion Bolzano, China researcher for Asia Art Archive, contributing editor for frieze, chief editor of the Chinese edition of Yishu: Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art, and co-founder/co-editor of Contemporary Art and Investment magazine. The duo has collaborated since 2007, most recently as artistic directors of the 2024 Yokohama Triennale. In a statement, they described the current landscape as one of 'extreme political volatility and the pervasive influence of algorithmic technologies,' calling for a shift from reactive commentary and technological escapism to reclaiming the primary agency of art and the individual.