Istancool

Istanbul Arts and Culture Festival

Istanbul International Arts and Culture Festival is a fascinating and unique cultural experience bringing together some of the world’s most talented writers, designers, editors, actors, poets, filmmakers, dancers and musicians to the city of Istanbul. The festival is committed to creating a dynamic arts diplomacy programme in the world and forging greater cultural relations between Turkey and the international artistic community. (istanbul74.com)
Vogue magazine touted the festival as "Eastern Promise"
Style.com billed it as "The Fashion Set Touches Down in Istanbul"
Harper's Bazaar sent Derek Blasberg in for the details.

Istancool is an artist's whos-who mashup of gallery exhibitions, and educational experiences. This year they changed the name to Istanbul '74, but it's still, apparently, very cool. (Please, let me know if you find a plausible reason for the name change. It can't just be that 1974 was a good year. Can it?)

Celebrities and reknowned artists are on the must-see list, and the social events are extravagant. This year it was Boom Boom Room (from NYC), set up in the steel and glass inside of burned out 200 year old mansion, Esma Sultan Palace, on the Bosphorus - with a view of the suspension bridge. These guys know how to throw a party! The Standard dishes on the awesome here. 

I can't think of a more appropriate place to explain Istanbul's mix of old and new, can you?

Esma Sultan Palace, Istanbul, Turkey

FYI, my MC references Istancool because her roomate is a design student, and it's all in the details. ;)