Talk with Bige Örer, director of the Istanbul Biennial
within the frames of Curating Institution
Bige Örer
is currently the director of the Istanbul Biennial and contemporary art projects at İKSV There she directs the artistic vision and programme for the Istanbul Biennial as well as a wide variety of cross disciplinary projects, including the Pavilion of Turkey at the Venice Biennale; learning, residency and public programmes which are developed together with a multitude of international and local collaborators. She has a background in political science and public administration as well as sociology.
She has been a consultant and a jury member of numerous arts institutions. She was an independent expert in the European Union’s department that evaluates structural funds. Bige Örer's breadth of activity embraces both the artistic and the academic fields. Her contribution in various publications includes the research she co-conducted on the financing of international contemporary art biennials. She is the co-author of the children’s book A Colourful Journey in a Time Machine: Istanbul Biennials for Children with Sureyyya Evren. Bige has written extensively about biennials and has taught courses on the subject at Istanbul Bilgi University. Since March 2013, she has been the vice-president of the International Biennial Association. She is on the editorial board of the association which conceptualised and produced the inaugural issue of its journal, Pass.
