Ayça Okay

Ayça Okay, born in 1991 in İzmir, is an active curator between Istanbul and Berlin. As a member of AICA Turkey and CIMAM, she prioritizes research-based curatorial projects, emphasizing developing intellectual resources, knowledge-sharing, and establishing sustainable support systems. Collaborating with individuals, communities, and institutions, Okay values the practice of listening. She believes in the value of listening practice while collaborating with individuals, communities, and institutions. Okay views art as a byproduct of processes such as thoughts, ideas, texts, theories, and experiments, aiming to generate original discourses on contemporary issues and transcend artificial boundaries in contemporary art. Her research focuses on urbanism, anthropocentrism, eco-criticism, tangle theory in archaeology, and feminist and queer curating, with a notable master’s degree in Art Theory and Criticism.

Since 2018, Okay has curated and managed exhibitions for various collections, including Borusan Contemporary Museum, Baksı Museum, Contemporary Istanbul Foundation and Yves Rocher Foundation. She has curated exhibitions in Berlin at Vorfluter Projektraum, Scope Berlin, and Somos Arts. She co-curated Istanbul The Lights, the first light festival in Turkey, and curated a solo exhibition for prominent Turkish contemporary artist Canan Tolon. In addition to managing art projects for organizations like Turkish Airlines and QNB-Finansbank, she was the Art Programs Director at Contemporary Istanbul Foundation. She engaged in fundraising projects with the Consulates General of Ukraine and Poland.

Selected for the Culture Route program by IKSV and UNESCO in 2021, Okay completed the International Curatorial Program at NODE Curatorial Studies Center in Berlin. In 2022, the SAHA Association supported her as a member curator for the CIMAM platform, which selected three curators from Turkey. Her articles have been published in Stir World, Milliyet Sanat, and Artdog Magazine. She moderated and participated in panels and meetings at Loop Barcelona Fair, BASE Istanbul, and the Collective Healing Project Public Program supported by ZOMA Museum in corporation with Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and Turkish Women Association. In 2022-2023, she served as a jury member for APEXART’s art competitions in New York. Elected as a board member of the BAKSI Museum, Ayça Okay represents the contemporary art ecosystem for TÜSİAD Berlin Bosphorus Initiative.

Last updated: November 20th 2023