Bige Örer

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.

She is working with Füsun Onur as the curator for the Pavillion of Turkey at the 59th Venice Biennial to be held in 2022. 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 (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 new 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. 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”.