Fatoş Üstek (born 1980 in

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

) is a London-based independent Turkish curator and writer, working internationally with large scale organizations,

biennials A biennial plant is a flowering plant that, generally in a temperate climate, takes two years to complete its biological life cycle. Background In its first year, the biennial plant undergoes primary growth, during which its vegetative structures ...

and festivals, as well as commissioning in the public realm. In 2008 she received her MA in Contemporary Art Theory from Goldsmiths College London, after completing her BA in Mathematics at Bogazici University in Istanbul.

Work

In 2014, Üstek acted as Associate Curator for the 10th Gwangju Biennale in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. subsequently, she curated the ''fig-2'' project, hosted by the Institute of Contemporary Art ICA in London in 2015. The series of 50-week-long exhibitions showed works by artists Laura Eldret, Charles Avery, Rebecca Birch,

Annika Ström Annika Ström (born 9 November 1964) is a Swedish artist, living and working in London, United Kingdom. Ström works mainly with performance art, text, films (video art) and sound. Her work addresses subjective states of crisis and insecurity in ...

, Beth Collar, Allison Katz, Tom McCarthy,

Shezad Dawood Shezad Dawood (born 1974) is a British visual artist. He is based in London. Biography Shezad Dawood was born in 1974, in London, England. His artworks reflect his varied cultural heritage, which includes having a Pakistani mother, an Indian f ...

, Suzanne Treister, Lynn Marsh, Jacopo Miliani, Kathryn Elkin, Marjolijn Dijkman,

Ben Judd Ben Judd (born October 25, 1974) is an American translator, producer, and agent. He is a former Capcom employee. Judd is an American and lives in Japan and became Capcom's first non-Japanese producer. Judd has had several voice acting cameos in ...

Karen Mirza Karen may refer to: * Karen (name), a given name and surname * Karen (slang), a term and meme for a demanding white woman displaying certain behaviors People * Karen people, an ethnic group in Myanmar and Thailand * House of Karen, a historic ...

Oreet Ashery Oreet Ashery (; born 1966 in Jerusalem, Israel) is an interdisciplinary artist based in London. Career Ashery received her BA (distinction) in Fine Art from Sheffield Hallam University in 1992, followed by her MA in Fine Arts from Central Saint ...

, Eva Grubinger,

Melanie Manchot Melanie Manchot (born 1966 in Witten) is a London-based visual artist who works with photography, film, video and installation as part of a performative and participatory practice. Her projects often explore specific sites and public spaces to ...

Bruce McLean Bruce McLean (born 1944) is a Scottish sculptor, performance artist and painter. McLean was born in Glasgow and studied at Glasgow School of Art from 1961 to 1963, and at Saint Martin's School of Art, London, from 1963 to 1966. At Saint Martin ...

, Vesna Petresin, Young in Hong, and duo Wright and Vandame, among others. Üstek was in charge the

Akbank Akbank T.A.Ş. is one of the largest banks in Turkey. Founded in 1948, , Akbank reported a consolidated net profit of TL 60 billion 26 million. Listed on the Borsa Istanbul, its largest shareholders are members of the Sabancı family. Akbank s ...

40th Contemporary Artists Prize Exhibition in Istanbul 2022. The same year, she curated ''Cascading Principles: Expansions within Geometry, Philosophy, and Interference'' at Oxford Mathematics, one of the largest exhibitions by the artist

Conrad Shawcross Conrad Hartley Pelham Shawcross (born 26 April 1977) is a British artist specializing in mechanical sculptures based on philosophical and scientific ideas. When he was elected, Conrad Shawcross was the youngest living member of the Royal Academ ...

in the UK. It is accompanied by a four-part symposium in partnership with

Modern Art Oxford Modern Art Oxford is an art gallery established in 1965 in Oxford, England. From 1965 to 2002, it was called The Museum of Modern Art, Oxford. The gallery presents exhibitions of modern and contemporary art. It has a national and international ...

and

Ruskin School of Art The Ruskin School of Art is the Department of Fine Art at the University of Oxford, England. It is part of Oxford's Humanities Division. History The Ruskin School of Art grew out the Oxford School of Art, which was founded in 1865 and later ...

. Üstek sits on selection and award committees for the Scottish and Dutch Pavilions at

Venice Biennial The Venice Biennale ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Venice Biennale of Architecture, Architecture Biennale (), ...

and was a judge on

Turner Prize The Turner Prize, named after the English painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist. Between 1991 and 2016, only artists under the age of 50 were eligible (this restriction was removed for the 2017 award). ...

2020. Early 2022, Üstek was appointed as Chair of Trustees of

New Contemporaries New Contemporaries is an organisation in the UK that works to support emerging artists at the beginning of their careers by introducing them to the visual arts sector and to the public through a variety of platforms, including an annual exhibit ...

. Together with artists

Anne Hardy Anne Hardy (born 1970) is a British artist. Her art practice spans photography, sculptural installation and audio. She completed an MA in photography at the Royal College of Art in 2000, having graduated from Cheltenham School of Art in 1993 w ...

and Lindsay Seers, Fatoş Üstek is co-founder of FRANK, an alliance for fair artists’ pay. She is also a founding member of The Association of Women in the Arts AWITA, a non-profit networking group that aims to advance the careers of women in the visual arts. Since 2023, Fatos Üstek is curator of Frieze Sculpture, a major annual

public art Public art is art in any Media (arts), media whose form, function and meaning are created for the general public through a public process. It is a specific art genre with its own professional and critical discourse. Public art is visually and phy ...

exhibition placing monumental works by leading artists throughout London's

Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the London Borough of Camden, Borough of Camden (and historical ...

. Her first exhibition included works by more than 20 international artists like

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, Catharine Czudej,

Ayşe Erkmen Ayşe Erkmen (born 1949, Istanbul) is a visual artist recognized as "one of the foremost Turkish artists." She is living and working in Berlin and in Istanbul. Influenced by specific sites, histories and geographies Ayşe Erkmen's works takes the ...

Gülsün Karamustafa Gülsün Karamustafa (born 1946 in Ankara) is a visual artist and filmmaker recognised as "one of Turkey’s most outspoken and celebrated artists." Using personal and historical narratives, Karamustafa explores socio-political issues in modern ...

, Suhasini Kejriwal,

Louise Nevelson Louise Nevelson (September 23, 1899 – April 17, 1988) was an American sculptor known for her monumental, monochromatic, wooden wall pieces and outdoor sculptures. Born in the Poltava Governorate of the Russian Empire (present-day Kyiv Oblast, ...

, Hans Rosenström and

Yinka Shonibare Yinka Shonibare (born 9 August 1962), is a British artist living in the United Kingdom. His work explores cultural identity, colonialism and post-colonialism within the contemporary context of globalisation. A hallmark of his art is the bright ...

. In 2024, she presented artists Frances Goodman, İnci Eviner,

Céline Condorelli Céline Condorelli (born 1974) is an artist who works in London and Lisbon and is best known for her publications The Company She Keeps and Support Structures and her artworks which work across the spheres of art and architecture. Support Structur ...

, Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim,

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, Anna Boghiguian,

Zanele Muholi Zanele Muholi (born 1972) is a South African artist and visual activist working in photography, video, and installation. Muholi's work focuses on race, gender and sexuality with a body of work that dates back to the early 2000s, documenting and ...

and

Leonora Carrington Mary Leonora Carrington (6 April 191725 May 2011) was a British-born, naturalised Mexican Surrealist painter and novelist. She lived most of her adult life in Mexico City and was one of the last surviving participants in the Surrealist movem ...

, among others. In her 2024 publication, ''The Art Institution of Tomorrow'', Üstek proposes changes that art institutions will need to undergo in order to maintain their relevance for generations to come.

Recognition

Fatoş Üstek was listed among the 100 most important people in the art world in the Artlyst Power 100 list in since 2017.

Publications

* ''The Art Institution of Tomorrow: Reinventing the Model'', Lund Humphries Publishers Ltd/Sotheby's Institute of Art, 2024

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Üstek, Fatoş Turkish expatriate academics Turkish art curators British art curators Art writers British academics Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London Living people Art directors 1980 births British women curators Turner Prize British women writers