Who's Who at CIMAM with Ayça Okay
Ayça Okay, a curator, researcher, writer and Board Member of the BAKSI Museum, is affiliated with AICA Turkey and a member of CIMAM. She specializes in exhibitions connecting Southwest Asia and North Africa. Since 2018, Okay has curated and managed exhibitions for Borusan Contemporary Museum, Contemporary Istanbul Foundation, Yves Rocher Foundation, and Baksı Museum as well as spaces such as Vorfluter Projektraum, Scope Berlin and she is actively engaged with LOOP Barcelona Video Art Fair since 2022, Okay serves as a scouter and advisor, fostering connections and collaborations across Europe and the Middle East.
What kind of narratives are you currently working with or most interested in?
Growing up in Izmir, Turkey, I was immersed in a rich blend of Western and Eastern cultures shaped by my maternal roots in Bulgaria and the Caucasus, and paternal ties to Thessaloniki. My grandparents' experiences with war and crisis instilled in me deep resilience and a strong commitment to social justice. I feel fortunate to access intellectual resourcefulness. Family gatherings were vibrant with open dialogue, where I often mediated discussions, drawing on our shared history to foster unity and understanding. These formative experiences profoundly influence my approach to curatorial work, leading me to adopt a holistic perspective. I strive to understand the intricate relationships within individuals and systems, viewing them as integral parts of a larger whole. Drawing from a variety of disciplines—Urbanism, Post-Anthropocentrism, Ecocriticism, Entanglement Theory in Archaeology, Feminist and Queer Curating, and Critical Arts Theory—I aim to craft comprehensive and effective solutions, considering content, theme, arrangement, and audience interaction to provide a deeper and more meaningful public experience.
How would you define yourself as a curator regarding research and relationships with artists and institutions?
Actually, everything about my being emerges from a holistic point of view, deeply influenced by experiences that highlight the intricate relationships within systems. When designing exhibitions, I focus on content, theme, arrangement, and audience interaction to create meaningful public experiences. My mission is to spark engaging conversations on contemporary issues and push against the boundaries of the traditional art sphere. For me, art is not just a product; it's the result of profound processes involving thoughts, ideas, texts, theories, and experiments. Robert Storr's metaphor of exhibition-making as a form of language deeply resonates with me. I see each element of the exhibition space as part of a cohesive narrative. By applying these grammatical principles, I aim to create exhibitions that engage and transform audiences. My goal is to break down barriers, disrupt traditional methodologies, challenge limitations, and present a perspective that reflects the complex interplay of diverse influences. This holistic approach allows me to develop exhibitions that not only address contemporary issues but also create a lasting impact on the audience.
What are your most common working practices and research sources?
One notable philosopher, Henri Bergson, posits that "time" has two faces. The first face is "objective time," represented by watches, calendars, and train timetables. The second face, "la durée" or "duration," encompasses "lived time," the subjective experience within us. It is the time felt, lived, and acted upon. This narrative weaves together objective time and lived time, reflecting various phases of my life, much like my curatorial works. I prioritize research-based curatorial projects, emphasizing the development of intellectual resources, knowledge-sharing, and establishing sustainable support systems through collaborations with individuals, communities, and institutions.
I aim to harmonize objective time with lived time. However, the initial phase of my research process or working ritual is usually quite spontaneous. I might kick off with an inspiring idea sparked by a morning walk, an electronic music rhythm, or an observation of consumer behavior at the supermarket, rather than relying on more traditional and concrete information. Following this, I organize my thoughts and ideas within a mathematical time framework, bolstered by books, academic papers, articles, videos, photography, objects, and, if available, archival materials. I integrate these with real-life experiences, including interviews and site visits, while also engaging in listening, reading, and mental flow exercises. I explore diverse sources and use various brainstorming techniques to spark new ideas. I experiment with different formats to find the most effective way to communicate my message. Seeking feedback and criticism is a crucial part of my process, helping me refine and improve my approach. I learn from other researchers and their methods, always aiming to broaden my understanding. Regular practice and reflection are essential to my growth. By staying open to new ideas and approaches, I ensure that my work remains dynamic and engaging.
Can you share the title of a book you have recently read and found inspiring for your professional work?
Why Art Criticism? A Reader by Beate Söntgen and Julia Voss, eds.
What was the last exhibition you attended, and how did it impact you?
The recent summer exhibition at the Fondation Beyeler, running parallel to Art Basel, was an influential one, truly touching and lifelike- originally titled "Dance with the Demons," possibly renamed to reflect evolving themes. It emphasized that curating involves both displaying art and telling compelling stories authentically. Organized in collaboration with the LUMA Foundation, the exhibition's concept was crafted by Sam Keller, Mouna Mekouar, Isabela Mora, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Precious Okoyomon, Philippe Parreno, and Tino Sehgal, in close consultation with artists. I felt the exhibition turn into a space as a medium for visually expressing ideas, with installations acting as tools for presentation and interpretation. The show fostered connections among diverse artworks through deep dialogues with artists and featured both site-specific creations and adapted pieces from the institution's collection, illustrating a dynamic and engaging approach to contemporary curation.
Can you share a song to be included in CIMAM's Spotify playlist?
About Ayça Okay
Ayça Okay (born 1991, Izmir) is a curator and board member at the BAKSI Museum affiliated with AICA Turkey and CIMAM, specializing in exhibitions bridging SWANA (South West Asia and North Africa) and Europe. Embracing a holistic approach, Okay sees art as a product of intricate processes like thoughts, ideas, texts, theories, and experiments, aiming to transcend contemporary art boundaries. Ayça Okay has been actively engaged with LOOP Barcelona video art fair since 2022, nowadays serving as both a scouter and advisor. In her role, she fosters new connections and facilitates collaborations across the European region and the Middle East.
Ayça Okay has curated exhibitions for prestigious collections including Borusan Contemporary Museum, Contemporary Istanbul Foundation, Yves Rocher Foundation, and Baksı Museum, as well as project spaces and galleries in Berlin such as Vorfluter Projektraum, Scope Berlin, and Somos Arts. In 2022, the SAHA Association granted her as a member curator for the CIMAM platform, which selected three curators from Turkey. Her articles have been published in Stir World, Hürriyet Newspaper, Posta Newspaper, Milliyet Sanat Magazine, and Artdog Magazine.
In 2022-2023, she served as a jury member for APEXART's art competitions in New York. In 2024, she has been invited to Athens to research the collection of the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens, as part of the International Curators Visiting Program, and to Oslo as part of the International Curators Visiting Program of OSLO OPEN. Ayça Okay is part of the contemporary art ecosystem for TÜSİAD Berlin Bosphorus Initiative.
Currently she co-curated an extended collection exhibition at BAKSI Museum titled "GEL ZAMAN GİT ZAMAN".