What is LocalsDo
The part that starts after the workshop.
LocalsDo is the group around Istanbul Workshops — the people who met at a table and kept meeting after it. Not a membership. A name for something that was already happening.
This is
LocalsDo Community
We walk the city together a few times a month, and anyone can come.
Open to anyone who has been to a workshop with us, and to anyone who has not.
Places we keep coming back to
- BalatPhoto walks
- PeraExhibition visits
- KaraköyPop-up events
- KuzguncukPicnics
- KadıköyCity discoveries
What is Community
A city, and the people in it.
Photo walks, picnics, exhibition visits, pop-up evenings — a few times a month, in different parts of Istanbul. You come for a craft; you leave with a city.
Who is it for
Anyone who turns up.
Open to anyone who has been to a workshop with us, and to anyone who has not. No experience, no equipment, no perfect Turkish or English required.
What holds it together
Four things run through everything we do: warm, authentic, cultural, welcoming.
Warm
Like Turkish hospitality: we look after whoever walks in, whether it's their first meetup or their tenth.
Authentic
No performance. Real places, real craft, and people who actually live here.
Cultural
Every meetup carries a piece of Istanbul: the layered city where East and West have always shared a table.
Welcoming
You don't need a plus-one, perfect Turkish or any experience at all. Turning up is enough.
WHAT WE DO
Meeting outside the workshop
Different fields, same group. Something new goes on the calendar every few weeks; the idea comes from members as often as from us.
Photo walks
Cameras, phones, whatever you have. We walk a neighbourhood together and shoot it: Balat, Kuzguncuk, the back streets of Karaköy.
Pop-up events
One-off evenings that fit no other box: a tasting, a small concert, a makers' night in a space we borrow for a single night.
Picnics
A blanket, a hill facing the Bosphorus, everyone bringing something. The simplest thing we do, and usually the best attended.
Exhibition visits
Museums, biennial venues, gallery openings. We go together, then take a coffee and talk about it at length.
City discoveries
The Istanbul that isn't on the postcards: a market at opening hour, a ferry at the right time of day, a neighbourhood a local wants to show off.
Helping each other
The quiet part: a flat to find, a language to practise, a portfolio to review, a hand on moving day. The network is the point.
Meetups
Meetups appear here once they are announced. The group hears first.
Nothing on the calendar right now
The next meetup has not been announced yet. Join the group and you will hear when it is.
How it works between us
Four things, and that's the whole rulebook. They're what keep a group of strangers worth being part of.
01
Come as you are
No experience, no equipment, no perfect Turkish or English required. Curiosity covers it.
02
Give a hand
If you can help someone here, do it: a contact, a lift, a translation. It comes back around.
03
Respect the city
We're guests in every neighbourhood we walk into: quiet stairwells, permission before photographing people, nothing left behind.
04
Say if you can't make it
Spots are limited and there's usually a waiting list. Cancelling early hands your place to someone who wanted it.
Moments from the workshops that started it
Come to the next one
Tell us you would like to join and we will add you to the group where meetups are announced. No commitment. If a date suits you, come; if it does not, you need do nothing.
1
Say hello
Send us a message saying you'd like to join the community.
2
Get the invite
We add you to the group where every meetup is announced first.
3
Turn up
Pick a date that works, save your spot, and meet the rest of us there.
Join the community
We'll only write to you about community meetups.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Got a question? We're here to answer! If you don't see your question here, contact with us directly on our Contact Page →
Are you the original Istanbul Workshops?
Yes, you are on the right page. We are the first brand under this name in Turkey. Our trademark is on file. The studio is in Üsküdar in Istanbul. Phone: +90 533 167 62 71. Site: istanbulworkshops.com.
Do you give a certificate of completion?
Yes, on request. At the end of the session we print a simple sheet with your name, the craft, and the guide's signature. No fee; just ask before the workshop ends. Guests often add it to their trip keepsake set.
How do I contact Istanbul Workshops?
The fast way to reach us is the contact form on our site. We reply in one work day. We also run a phone line. The line is open in studio hours. We help in English and Turkish on both routes.
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