Kevser GÜler Appointed Director of the Istanbul Biennial

The Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV), which oversees the Istanbul Biennial, has announced curator and researcher Kevser Güler as the event’s new director, effective January 15. Güler replaces Bige Örer, who had held the job since 2008. Örer announced herdeparturelate last year as the İKSV struggled amid accusations that it improperly named renowned British-born writer, curator, and art historian Iwona Blazwick curator of the 2024 Istanbul Biennial. In doing so, the foundation ignored the advice of the Biennial’s five-member advisory board, which had unanimously recommended Turkish-born curator Defne Ayas—a cocurator of the 2021 Gwangju Biennial, curator of the 2015 Moscow Biennale in Russia, and curator of Lithuania’s 2012 Baltic Triennial—for the role. To date, the kerfuffle has led to the departure of four-fifths of the board members, among them Blazwick, who stepped down after being selected to helm the Biennial.

TheArt Newspaperreports that Örer’s departure was “not linked to the curator selection process,” according to an İKSV spokesperson, who further noted that “Örer took this decision to consider her own professional journey and future goals.”RelatedMARTHA DIAMOND (1944–2023)MAJOR US MUSEUMS SUFFER CYBERATTACK FALLOUT Güler, who was born in the Turkish coastal town of Izmir, graduated from the department of industrial engineering at Boğaziçi University and studied philosophy at Galatasaray University. She worked for the Istanbul Biennial between 2007 and 2014 and served as assistant curator for the Thirteenth Istanbul Biennial in 2013. Güler was part of the founding team of the Cappadox Festival Contemporary Art Program, and was the festival’s associate curator between 2015 and 2017. From 2014 to 2019, she conducted research on the collection held by Istanbul-based contemporary art museum Arter. Most recently, from 2020 to 2021, she was curator and exhibitions director at Yapı Kredi Culture and Arts, the contemporary art organization established by the Turkish bank for which it is named.

The Eighteenth Istanbul Biennial, curated by Blazwick, is slated to take place September 14–November 17..