The Independent Art Association was established in 2008 with an aim of bringing different artists and disciplines together to express social and societal issues through means of contemporary art. Moreover to that, the association aspires to support artistic productions, communities and sharing by developing qualified and sustainable programs in this field.

The Independent Art Association, which became a foundation in 2016, organizes national and international trainings, events and exhibitions in order to contribute to the understanding and development of contemporary and conceptual art. 

In this regard, the foundation held its first international art event; 1st International Istanbul Triennial between 02-19 September 2010, with the theme of “The Secret Language of the City-S/he Recognized Them, But They didn’t (couldn’t)”, at the Warehouse No. 5 in Karakoy Art Harbor. Apart from the exhibitions, the event was completed by holding panels and activities related to the subject. The same exhibition was held in 2011 as a portable art event and was presented to the audience at Taksim Metro, Eminönü Hunkar Pavilion and Zeytinburnu Municipality Cennet Cultural Center.

Later in 2013, the 2nd International Istanbul Triennial, with the title of ‘7 Valleys 60 Wing Shadows,’ was held at the MAKSEM (Taksim Cumhuriyet Art) Gallery hosting 35 international artists.

In 2016, between August 20 and September 20, the 3rd International Istanbul Triennial was held at Taksim Cumhuriyet Art Gallery (Maksem) as the main venue and other various places in Istanbul. The theme of the triennial was the ‘No homeland-making’ and nearly 40 international artists participated in the exhibition program. 3rd International Istanbul Triennial welcomed artists who experienced what does it mean to be refugees and wanted to deeply examine these experiences through their works of art. The aim of the event was to examine both Turkey’ and the whole world’s political reflections regarding the refugee crisis, the future of refugees, their legal status and the historical dimension of the crisis.