"Curating Contemporary Art" Seminar Program
Seminar: Curatorial Design Strategies
Speaker: Prof. Dr. Ayşen Savaş
Time: 6:00-7:30 pm
This workshop explores exhibition-making as a form of knowledge production situated at the intersection of architectural design and museology. Framing exhibitions as spatial epistemologies rather than neutral displays, it examines how curatorial design operates as a projective practice that constructs narratives, mediates publics, and negotiates cultural meaning. Through the lens of “exhibitions as spatial knowledge,” participants will investigate how space itself becomes an active agent in shaping interpretation and experience. By rethinking exhibition practices from display to discourse, the workshop invites participants to develop curatorial strategies that integrate spatial thinking, narrative construction, and public engagement, positioning the exhibition as both a research method and a cultural proposition.
About Prof. Dr. Ayşen Savaş
Prof. Dr. Ayşen Savaş holds degrees in architecture from Middle East Technical University and the Bartlett School of Architecture. She completed her PhD in the History, Theory, and Criticism Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, specializing in architectural representation, with a particular focus on perspective and modes of visual representation. Since 1986, she has been actively engaged in academic research, exhibition design, and museum projects, working across museum architecture, display environments, and cultural heritage. Her early fieldwork began at Ephesus and Topkapı Palace, and expanded through research on Smyrna Harbor and London Docklands, shaping her expertise in visual culture, historiography, and exhibition practices. Since 1996, Savaş has developed training programs on the documentation, presentation, and display of cultural heritage, contributing to the establishment of cultural institutions and the curation of international exhibitions. Acting as a bridge between museums, archives, and universities, she has collaborated with public institutions, municipalities, and diverse stakeholders, particularly through her work with the International Council of Museums, where she represented Turkey and served on the board of ICOM-DEMHist. In addition to her long-standing position at METU, she has held visiting professorships at the University of Bologna, Xiamen University, and TU Delft. She has contributed to the establishment, architectural and museographic design, and inaugural exhibitions of institutions such as the Sakıp Sabancı Museum, the Erimtan Archaeology and Arts Museum, and the MKE Museum.
* This seminar is organized in collaboration between Akbank Sanat and Open Dialogue Istanbul
* To learn conditions of participation in a single seminar, we would kindly ask you to send an e-mail to apply@curatingcontemporaryart.org address noting the required seminar details. Single seminar participation fee is 850 TL for adults, 650 TL for students (VAT included).
* The program will take place on the online platform Zoom.