Çanakkale Bienali İmzalı Troya Pavyonu 2. Malta Bienali’nde Açıldı

Press Release, 2nd March 2026

A multilayered cultural narrative extending from the North Aegean to the Mediterranean

As part of the official programme of the 2nd Malta Biennale, the Troy Pavilion, realised by the Çanakkale Biennial, will meet an international audience at Old Armoury Birgu between 11 March and 29 May 2026. Curated by Deniz Erbaş, the exhibition brings together works produced by artists in Çanakkale, positioning Troy not merely as a historical legacy but as a living point of reference for contemporary artistic and intellectual production across the Mediterranean. Works by David Blandy, Georgios Katsagelos, Jakob Gautel, Katrin Korfmann & Jens Pfeifer, Pınar Yolaçan and Seyhan Boztepe offer a contemporary reading of Troy’s multilayered cultural and symbolic world.

The Troy Pavilion is realised with the support of the Dr Gökhan Gündoğdu Museum and Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi, in collaboration with the Çanakkale Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Türkiye, the Faculty of Fine Arts at Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, and the Troy Excavations. The project consultancy of the exhibition is undertaken by Prof. Dr Rüstem Aslan, Head of the Troy Excavations.

Inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1998, Troy constitutes a unique constellation of meanings in which myth, history and archaeology are intertwined. The exhibition approaches this multilayered heritage not as a fixed and completed past, but as a living field of thought continuously reproduced through journeys, encounters and narratives across the Mediterranean. Through works realised in diverse media such as game, video, photography and installation, the artists reveal that the past is not bound to a singular and immutable story; rather, it is constantly reconstructed through collective production, circulation and imagination. In doing so, the exhibition invites viewers to reconsider Troy’s relationships and interactions with the contemporary world.

Following a preview between 11–13 March, the Troy Pavilion at the 2nd Malta Biennale will open to the public on 14 March and remain on view until 29 May.

After its opening in Malta, the exhibition will be presented once again at the Dr Gökhan Gündoğdu Museum in Adana in an expanded format including additional artists.

The Troy Pavilion at the Malta Biennale will conclude on the occasion of the Biennale’s closing events with a talk on Troy by Prof. Rüstem Aslan.

About Malta Biennale 2026

Malta Biennale, Malta’s international platform for contemporary art, presents its second edition. Featuring 28 national and thematic pavilions, the Biennale unfolds between 11 March and 29 May 2026 across historic venues in Valletta, Birgu, Xagħra and the Cittadella in Gozo. Curated by Rosa Martínez, the Biennale proposes a critical and transformative exhibition strategy addressing environmental, ethical and aesthetic questions under the conceptual framework CLEAN | CLEAR | CUT.

Organised by Heritage Malta, Malta Biennale 2026 aims to establish a sustainable dialogue between contemporary art and Malta’s multilayered historical fabric through an extensive public programme comprising talks, workshops and participatory events in addition to the exhibitions.

About CABININ

The Çanakkale Biennial Initiative (CABININ) is a collective platform focused on contemporary art. Conceived as a meeting ground where artistic practices engage in dialogue with diverse segments of society, it draws upon the cultural, historical and ecological values of Çanakkale while simultaneously forging connections with global artistic agendas. In this respect, it creates conditions for reciprocal intellectual exchange between local and international art contexts.

CABININ provides artists with both conceptual and spatial frameworks for production and interaction, proposing multidirectional relationships between art and disciplines such as archaeology, architecture, design, cinema and literature, and fostering ongoing dialogues among these fields.

Over the years, the Çanakkale Biennial has cultivated an interdisciplinary art ecosystem in the city, constituting a collective model sustained through sharing and reciprocal learning. With the establishment of MAHAL Art in 2013 and the opening of StudioMAHAL in 2023, CABININ has expanded its institutional and spatial infrastructure, evolving into a sustainable structure that shapes the city’s cultural life through year-round contemporary art programmes and international collaborations.

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For further information and interview requests, please contact:

Burcu Dimili

burcudimili@gmail.com
+90 (554) 458 33 13