Curator
Senem Cagla Bilgin
Curator
Part of events on ArtRabbit in: London
Senem Cagla Bilgin is a curator and founder of Art Elsewhere living in London. She curated solo and group exhibitions focused on contemporary art practice, environmental and social issues such as ecological crises, migration, and equality. Bilgin curated 'Planetary Dysphoria' with Sara Thorsen Fredborg in 2019 and it was hosted by Generation & Display with the support of Queensrollahouse Artist Studios in London. 'Planetary Dysphoria' discussed humanistic and existential perspectives on climate change: an emergent aesthetic tied to notions of melancholy and uncertainty. The exhibition focused on a state of unease and dissatisfaction suffusing our economic, social, and cultural life, engendered by a newfound sensitivity to the real and imagined destruction of Earth. In 2020, Bilgin organised an online programme 'Deconstruction: Art and Ecology' that aimed to generate a cross-disciplinary idea space for artists, writers and researchers, under the ecological consultancy by biologists. 'Deconstruction: Art and Ecology' discussed many questions that are rooted in this idea: What is the focus of environmental ethics - humans or nature? What is the motivational source that creates the dilemma between nature and culture? Do we view nature as a property to use however we wish for our own benefit, or do we realise nature’s intrinsic value; free from its usefulness to humans? Is the extension - an extension of ethics to nature - individualistic or holistic? Is the extension rights-based or responsibility-based, and so on. Currently, she is working on a project that discusses the creation of the neologism of newcomers for those noncitizen immigrants while re-questioning the concepts such as identity, and a trilogy of nation-states from a dialectic contribution of the artist to the migration crisis. Bilgin has been working as an independent curator with collectors from TATE Patrons, international galleries Arebyte Gallery, Stour Space Gallery, Unit G Gallery, and art fairs Art Basel, Start Art Fair, Contemporary Istanbul since 2013. She graduated with BA in Art History at Hacettepe University in 2013 and later on studied MA in Curating, Criticism and Culture at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London. She also studied 21. Century Contemporary Art at Sotheby’s Institute of Art. She currently lives and works in London. You can get in touch via e-mail: artelsewherelondon@gmail.com
