Celebrating its 100th anniversary, Koç Group continues to bring diverse disciplines of art to wider audiences through the cultural institutions of the Vehbi Koç Foundation and the initiatives of its group companies. Through its collaboration with the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), one of the world’s leading museums dedicated to art, design, fashion and creativity, Koç Holding continues to contribute to the preservation and continuity of Türkiye’s cultural heritage through international initiatives. This partnership will bring the unique story of Istanbul to art lovers in London.
Located in the British capital, the V&A will host the exhibition “Constantinople to Istanbul: A City, Two Empires,” in collaboration with Koç Holding and with the support of the Huo Family Foundation. Opening to the public on 7 November 2026, the exhibition will explore how creative production evolved over a 1,600-year period during which Istanbul, once known as Constantinople, served as the capital of the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires. Spanning the period from AD 330 to 1922, the exhibition will bring together exceptional works of art, design and architecture to reveal the enduring legacy of an imperial capital that shaped the Mediterranean world and beyond. Curated by Tim Stanley, Senior Curator at the V&A, and Bella Radenovic, Project Curator, the exhibition will present the most comprehensive exploration of this journey ever staged in the United Kingdom.
Works from the Sadberk Hanım Museum and the Yapı Kredi Collection to Feature in the Exhibition
Through its creative scenography and immersive sensory design, the exhibition will take visitors on a journey through time along a route stretching from the Hippodrome and Hagia Sophia to Topkapı Palace and Galata Tower, exploring the city’s harbours and bustling streets. Highlights will include 19th-century Ottoman women’s garments and outstanding examples of calligraphy from the collection of the Sadberk Hanım Museum, which is affiliated with the Vehbi Koç Foundation. A üçetek entari, a traditional three-panel Ottoman robe reflecting the refinement of fashion in the imperial capital, alongside examples of everyday street attire, will be presented to visitors. The exhibition will also feature Women on a Promenade, a painting by Osman Hamdi Bey from the Yapı Kredi Collection, depicting women in Ottoman society in front of the courtyard of the Sultan Ahmed Mosque.
In addition to Koç Holding’s contributions, museums and institutions affiliated with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Türkiye and the Directorate of National Palaces of the Presidency have lent works to the exhibition under the coordination of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Many of the 200 works on display have been borrowed from the collections of institutions including Topkapı Palace Museum, Istanbul Archaeological Museums, Hagia Sophia History Museum, the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts in Istanbul, the Turkish Manuscripts Institution, the Istanbul Harbiye Military Museum, the Benaki Museum in Athens, the Treasury of San Marco in Venice, the British Museum and the British Library. Some of these works will be exhibited in the United Kingdom for the first time.
The exhibition will run until 9 May 2027.
