The American born Istanbul based artist, teacher, art historian and art critic, Nancy Atakan, has been an active figure in the Istanbul arts scene since 1969. Originally a painter, in the early 1990's she switched to a multimedia approach encompassing photography, installation, text, digital printing, neon and video. Believing that the art arena is a place where individuals can experiment to develop alternative ways to live and interact with each other, in 2007 she co-founded with artist Volkan Aslan, a non-profit artist initiative and project space called 5533. Sustaining this idealistic viewpoint, her practice involves experimentation, research, collaboration, and dialogue. In her work, she often incorporates autobiographical materials, references to the history and culture of Istanbul as well as gender politics, globalization, language and femininity related concepts. She has been a Pi Artworks artist since 2009. www.nancyatakan.com
Nancy Atakan, b. 1946. Her exhibitions include A Community of Lines (solo), Pi Artworks Istanbul, Turkey (2017), A Room of Our Own, Ark Kültür, Istanbul, Turkey (2017); Triebsand Online Exhibition Space, Volume #2, Zurich, Switzerland (2017); Unfold, Arte, Ankara, Turkey (2017); Whose Art History, Uniq Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey (2017); Letter from Istanbul, Pi Artworks London, UK (2017); Sporting Chances (solo), Pi Artworks London, UK (2016); Places of Memory-Fields of Vision, Contemporary Art Center, Thessaloniki, Greece (2012); Dream and Reality-Modern and Contemporary Women Artists from Turkey, Istanbul Modern, Turkey (2011) and Istanbul Next Wave, Akademie der Kunst, Berlin, Germany (2010).
Nancy Atakan is invited by artist Maria Andersson (based in Stockholm). The artists started collaborating with collective research in 2012 when they discovered their shared interests in cultural transliteration and transcultural exchange. Their joint and individual research about Swedish Ling gymnastics as a modernist project in Sweden and Turkey has led to a series of separate works by each artist using their own modes of production. During Nancy Atakan’s residency at The Nordic Guest Studio they are continuing their collaboration and preparing an up-coming exhibition.
Maria Andersson (b.1978) is an artist based in Stockholm. Her process based practice deals primarily with aspects of spatial organization and the shaping of a society. She works mainly with video and text, but also with public interventions, performance and spatial installations. She holds a BA from Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design in London and an MFA from Konstfack in Stockholm. She has previously exhibited at the Liverpool Biennial, Liverpool; Mains d’Œuvres, Paris; SALT Beyoğlu, Istanbul; Italian Cultural Institute, Stockholm; Bonniers Konsthall, Stockholm; and Botkyrka Konsthall, Tumba. Maria has also been involved in several self-organized initiatives and collaborative projects such as Slakthusateljéerna, Ett rum med utsikt/A Room With A View, AIR Drop and STAD.