The Artificer
BIOGRAPHY
Born in Ankara in 1980, I am a ceramic artist and art historian. I hold a BA and an MA in Art History from Hacettepe University and am currently pursuing a PhD in the same field. My doctoral research examines the industrial heritage of Zonguldak from the perspectives of cultural heritage and museology, with a particular focus on its interpretation, conservation, and adaptive reuse. My research interests include cultural policies, cultural heritage, adaptive reuse, museology, public art, and urban aesthetics, exploring the complex relationships between art, space, and society.
Art has always been both a personal and collective pursuit for me. Between 2006 and 2025, I held eight solo exhibitions while also engaging in curatorial and editorial work. As the editor and writer for the culture and art section of Solfasol, an independent Ankara-based newspaper (2012–2017), I contributed to the city's cultural discourse. My passion for interdisciplinary collaboration led me to co-found the AsiKeçi Ankara Artists' Initiative (2014–2019), where I organized public art projects and exhibitions that challenged conventional boundaries.
My professional journey has taken me through a range of academic, curatorial, and museum roles—from teaching Curating and Exhibition Techniques at TOBB University of Economics and Technology to managing the Rahmi M. Koç Museum in Ankara (2020–2023). In 2024, I lectured on Art History at Başkent University and contributed as an author to The Art Newspaper Turkey. I am also one of the founders of namekân, an initiative that fosters creative dialogue beyond spatial limitations.
Between 2024 and 2026, I conducted cultural heritage research and museological studies within the scope of LÖSEV’s museum project. Drawing on my expertise in museology, cultural heritage, and adaptive reuse, I contributed to the project's conceptual and research framework, focusing on the interpretation, documentation, and communication of cultural heritage. Across my academic, curatorial, and artistic practice, I seek to explore the dynamic relationships between history, memory, space, and society through interdisciplinary research and creative inquiry.
Solo Exhibitions
2025 STRATA I Memory, Surface, Touch Ceramics, Glass, and Felting Exhibition, Çankaya Municipality Fikret Otyam Art Center, Ankara, Turkey
2019 Activity Log Ceramic Exhibition, Gallery Muaf, Tomtom Designhood, İstanbul, Turkey
2014 Acropolis Ceramic Exhibition, GaleriM Art Gallery, Ankara, Turkey
2010 Daytime Ceramic Exhibition, Ataturk Library, Art Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey
2010 Prose Glass Art Exhibition, Arda Art Gallery, Contemporary Arts Center, Ankara, Turkey
2009 City of Creatures Ceramic Exhibition, Elele Art Gallery, Ankara
2008 The Feast of Abraham Ceramic Exhibition, Saraphane, Musander Art Gallery, Mugla, Turkey
2006 Auspicious Irises, Sinister Senses Ceramic Exhibition, Cengelhan Rahmi M. Koç Museum, Art Gallery, Ankara, Turkey
Curatorial Work
2026 (April 13 - May 15) Géographie intime des capitales - Rêves d'état, vie des citoyens (Intimate geography of capitals: State dreams, Dwellers' lifes), Photography Exhibition, Université de Tours, Fac des Tanneurs, Tours.
2023 (April 1–30) Retrospective Inventory of My-Self (Zat-ı Muheterem Envanterim), Can Mengilibörü Interdisciplinary Exhibition, Rahmi M. Koç Museum, Ankara.
2022 (May 13–September 1) Non-Random (Rastlantı-Sız) Nevide Gökaydın Retrospective Exhibition, Rahmi M. Koç Museum, Ankara.
2021 (December 1–2) TAKT Art Performance, Interdisciplinary Performance by Deniz Atlı, Oğuz Öner, and Umut Kambak, Rahmi M. Koç Museum, Ankara.
Articles
Proceeding
November 2025 "The Multilayered Nature of Cultural Heritage", HÜTKAM (Historical and Cultural Heritage Research Center) Cultural Memory Symposium, Ankara.
November 2024 "Ceramic Murals in Gulhane Hospital", HÜTKAM (Historical and Cultural Heritage Research Center) Cultural Memory Symposium, Ankara.
December 2023 "Comprehending the Ceramics of Gencay", HÜTKAM (Historical and Cultural Heritage Research Center) Cultural Memory Symposium, Ankara.
January 2022 "The Citizens’ Assembly of Ankara as a Platform for Aesthetic Deliberation", HÜTKAM (Historical and Cultural Heritage Research Center) Cultural Memory Symposium, Ankara.
December 2020 "Craftsmen Street in Çengelhan", HÜTKAM (Historical and Cultural Heritage Research Center) Cultural Memory Symposium, Ankara.
October 2019 "Ceramic Murals Dating Back to the 1960s and 1970s in the Public Buildings in Ankara",
16. International Congress of Turkish Arts (IV Turkish Art and Ankara. b. Capital of the Republic), Ankara.
November 2018 "Ceramic Murals at Hacettepe University", HÜTKAM (Historical and Cultural Heritage Research Center) Cultural Memory Symposium, Ankara.
November 2017 "The Memory in the Glaze and the Gaze in the Memory: Thinking with the Ceramic Murals of Anafartalar Shopping Centre", HÜTKAM (Historical and Cultural Heritage Research Center) Cultural Memory Symposium, Ankara.
Panels, Conferences and Webinars
2024 "Publicity of Museology in Türkiye from the Ottoman Empire to the Republic Period", Painting and Sculpture Museum, İzmir Culture and Arts Factory, İzmir.
2024 "You Can't Understand Here" Architects' Association 1927, Ankara.
2023 "Street Art as an Aesthetic Initiative for Shaping Public Space in Ankara", 8th Urban Studies Congress, Thesis Panel: A New Way of Life in Public Space, Ankara Urbanism Biennial / Together in the Urban: Contemporary Investigations for Public Space, TEPAV, Ankara.
2023 “The Juxtaposition of Cultural Heritage and Contemporary Public Art in the Anafartalar Bazaar", Beıng Or Becomıng A Capıtal In 100 Years: Ankara, ANR SPACEPOL Hybrid Workshop, Ankara.
2022 "The Female Touch Amidst Male Art World" ASTAD Art History Webinars, Ankara.
2021 "Cultural and Artistic Dynamics in Big City Life", The Citizens’ Assembly of Ankara, ARTANKARA The 7th International Contemporary Art Fair, Ankara.
2021 "Museology in Ankara: Professional Women in Culture, Art, and Tourism", The Citizens’ Assembly of Ankara, Ankara.
2020 "Museum for All: Is Accessible and Inclusive Museum Practice Possible in Turkey?" Thursday Talks, Online Webinar Series, Department of Museology, Dokuz Eylul University, İzmir.
2020 "Urban Aesthetics, Architecture, and Public Art: Ceramic Murals Dating Back to the 1960s and 1970s in the Public Buildings in Ankara", ASTAD Art History Webinars, Ankara.
2020 "Ceramic Murals Dating Back to the 1960s and 1970s in the Public Buildings in Ankara", Graduated Student Association, Collector's Club Webinars, METU, Ankara
2019 "Meaningful Location: Anafartalar Bazaar", In-situ History Lecture 3, TEDU MAUS & History Foundation, Ankara.
2019 "Glazed Walls of Ankara", VEKAM Conferences, Ankara.
2019 "Art in the Frosty Ankara: Notes on Urban Aesthetics and Public Art", Atılım University, Ankara.
2018 "The In-situ Museum: Anafartalar Bazaar", Ankara University, Ankara.
2018 "The In-situ Museum: Interdisciplinary Communication in Interior Design", Başkent University, Ankara.
2018 "Artistic Interventions", CAMMA Thursday Talks, Bilgi University, Istanbul.
2017 "Ceramic Wall Panels in Public Spaces in Ankara", VEKAM 2017 Research Programs, Ankara.
2017 "The Representation of the Image of Women in Late Ottoman Painting and the Places of Femininity", The Echo of the Difference TEDx, TED University.
2016 "Urban Aesthetics As an Experience of Placelessness", Placelessness Discussions Panel. Ankara Branch of The Chamber of Architects, Ankara.