IBA Conversations: Bige Örer to moderate upcoming talk “How to Unlearn and How to Learn”

Bige Örer, Istanbul Biennial Director. Photo Credit: Mushin Akgun IKSV

May 28, 2021
4:00pm – 5:30pm (London)

We are pleased to announce that our Executive Board member Bige Örer will be moderating the upcoming event How to Unlearn and How to Learn which will take place on Friday May 28th at 4pm (UK time). She will be discussing together with Natasha Ginwala (most recently curator of the 13th Gwangju Biennial titled “Mind Rising, Spirits turning”), Alia Swastika (Director of Jogja Biennial Foundation) and Françoise Verges (founding member of Decolonize the arts).

Bige Örer is currently the Director of the Istanbul Biennial and contemporary art projects at İKSV. There she directs the artistic vision and program 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 programs 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.

Bige Örer’s breadth of activity embraces both the artistic and the academic fields. She is working with Füsun Onur as the curator for the Pavillion of Turkey at the 59th Venice Biennial to be held in 2022. Her contribution in various publications includes the research she co-conducted on the financing of international contemporary art biennials.(2012) She is the co-author of the children’s book A Colourful Journey in a Time Machine: Istanbul Biennials for Children with Sureyyya Evren. (2015) She is the co- author of the book Haz/ Cızzz with the artist, İz Öztat. (2020) Bige has written extensively about biennials and has taught courses on the subject at Istanbul Bilgi University and Kadir Has University. 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. Since 2013, she has been the vice-president of the International Biennial Association. She is on the editorial board of the Association, which conceptualized and produced the inaugural and second issue of its journal, Pass.

We hope to see you numerous and interested on May 28^th at 4pm London time!

Those who are interested in joining are asked to register here.

In order for a genuine and frank discussion to take place and due to the sensitivity of some of the subjects to be covered, these events will have limited availability with priority to be given to current members of IBA and those who are interested in joining.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@biennialassociation.org.