Köken Ergun

Born in Istanbul, in 1976

Köken Ergun studied acting at the İstanbul University and completed his postgraduate diploma degree in Ancient Greek Literature at King's College London, followed by an MA degree on Art History at the Bilgi University.

After working with American theatre director Robert Wilson, Ergun became involved more with contemporary art, specifically video and performance. Exhibiting internationally since 2004, Ergun’s video works are included in public collections such as the Centre Pompidou (Paris) and Greek National Museum of Contemporary Art (Athens). A grant holder of the DAAD Academic Exchange Service and the DFG (German Research Foundation), Köken Ergun is also the recipient of the 2007 “Tiger Award for Short Film” at the Rotterdam Film Festival.

Having a focus on rituals in his works, Ergun has been recently collaborating with ethnologists extending his practice to academia. He is currently writing his PhD thesis at the Interart Graduate College of the Freie University on the subject of “Rituals of Isolation: Emotional Bonding in Wedding Ceremonies of the Turkish/Kurdish Community in Berlin”.

Education:

• 1997. BA, Acting, Istanbul University State Conservatory
• 2000. PgD, Ancient Greek Literature, King’s College London
• 2005. MA, Art History, Istanbul Bilgi University
• current — PhD candidate, Performance Studies, Freie Universität, Berlin

Solo Exhibitions: 

• 2011. Kunsthalle Winterthur, Switzerland
• 2009. Crash on Queens, Montevideo/Netherlands Media Institute, Amsterdam
• 2007. Nightworkers, YAMA, Istanbul, Turkey
• 2007. On the Brink (with Ahmet Ögüt), Curators without Borders, Berlin, Germany

Selected Group Exhibitions:

• 2013. Former West, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, Germany
• 2012. La Trienalle: Intense Proximity, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France
• 2012. On Stupidity, Petach Tikva Museum, Israel
• 2012. Asymmetric Europe, MOCAV, Novi Sad
• 2012. Scenarios about Europe: Scenario 3, GfZK, Leipzig, Germany
• 2011. Foto Festival: The Eye is a Lonely Hunter, Heidelberger Kunstverein Based in Berlin, Atelierhaus Monbijoupark, Berlin, Germany
• 2011. Labor & Leisure, Wyspa, Gdansk
• 2011. Self Extreme, Haifa Museum of Modern Art, Israel
• 2011. You Are All Individuals, Castrum Pregrini, Amsterdam
• 2011. ReCoCo:Life under Representational Regimes, Kunsthalle Exnergasse, Austria
• 2010. Another Country, Ifa Gallery, Stuttgart and Berlin, Germany
• 2010. Politics of Art, Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens
• 2010. Suspended Spaces, Maison de la Culture, Amiens
• 2009. Not Easy to Save the World in 90 Days, Tanas, Berlin, Germany
• 2009. Darbe, Outlet Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey
• 2009. Memory Labyrinth, Ars Cameralis, Katowice
• 2009. Istanbul Traverseé, Palais des Beaux Arts de Lille
• 2009. Forbidden Junctions, Israeli Center for Digital Art, Holon
• 2008. Soft Manipulation, Casino Luxembourg
• 2008. Salon of the Revolution, 29th Youth Salon, Zagreb
• 2008. U-Turn: Quadrennial for Contemporary Arts, Copenhagen
• 2008. Just Different, Cobra Museum, Amsterdam
• 2008. Sampling, Locus, Athens
• 2008. Signals in the Dark: Art in the Shadow of War, Blackwood Gallery, Toronto [Toured to Leonard Ellen Art Gallery of the Colombia University, Montreal & Model Arts & Niland Gallery, Sligo, Ireland (2009)]
• 2007. L’enfer, C’est les Autres, Stedelijk Museum Bureau, Amsterdam
• 2007. Ortung, Galerie 5020, Salzburg
• 2007. Glowing Whistle Festival, Sparwasser HQ, Berlin, Germany
• 2006. Somewhere in Time, Art Sonje Center, Seoul
• 2006. Naked Life, Museum of Contemporary Arts, Taipei
• 2006. Rejection Episodes, Vooruit, Ghent
• 2006. Köken Ergun & Markus Lohman, Kuenstlerhauser Worpswede
• 2006. Helter/Helter, Galerie Anne de Villepoix, Paris, France
• 2006. People, Land, State Israeli Center for Digital Art, Holon
• 2006. Re-shuffle, Art in General, New York, USA
• 2005. Free Kick, Hospitality Zone at the 9th Istanbul Biennial, Istanbul, Turkey
• 2005. Normalization: Art For... (Part One), Platform Garanti Contemporary Arts, Istanbul, Turkey
• 2004. Placebo Effect, Sparwasser HQ, Berlin, Germany
• 2004. Rimbaud, I-20 Gallery, New York, USA
• 2004. Public Execution, Exit Art, New York, USA
• 2003. Institutions2, KIASMA Museum of Modern Arts, Helsinki
• 2002. 1st Istanbul Pedestrian Exhibitions, Istanbul, Turkey

Selected Screenings & Artist’s Talks: 

• 2013. Berlinale, Berlinale Shorts Competition? Berlin, Germany
• 2012. SALT, Istanbul (Talk), Turkey
• 2012. Steirischer Herbst: Truth is Concrete, Graz (Talk)
• 2012. Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin (Talk & Screening)
• 2012. Istanbul Theatre Festival (Talk with Prof. Arzu Öztürkmen & Adnan Yildiz)
• 2012. Potsdam University, Potsdam (Talk)
• 2011. Kunsthalle Winterthur (Talk with Ian White)
• 2011. Kurzfilmtage Winterthur
• 2011. Kunsthalle Mannheim (Talk)
• 2011. Haifa Museum of Modern art (Talk)
• 2011. IFA gallery, Berlin (Talk with Ian White)
• 2011. Zurich Film Festival
• 2011. Castrum Pregrini, Amsterdam
• 2010. Technion University, Haifa (Talk)
• 2010. British Film Institute, London
• 2010. Isola Art Center, Milano (Talk)
• 2010. Kunstlerhaus Stuttgart (Talk)
• 2010. Images Festival, Toronto
• 2009. Centre Pompidou, Paris
• 2009. OVNI / Casa Arabe, Barcelona, Madrid
• 2009. Art in General, New York
• 2009. Digital Art Lab, Holon (Talk)
• 2009. Mamuta, Jerusalem (Talk)
• 2009. Steirischer Herbst, Graz
• 2009. Auguste Orts, Brussels
• 2009. Kunstwerke, Berlin, Germany
• 2008. Videozone, Tel Aviv
• 2008. CCA Glasgow, UK
• 2008. CGAC, Santiago De Compostela
• 2008. Kino Arsenal, Berlin (Talk)
• 2008. Villa Romana, Florence Gallery TPW, Toronto
• 2008. Homeworks, Askhan Alwan, Beirut
• 2008. Images Festival, Toronto
• 2008. Oberhausen Short Film Festival
• 2007. Rotterdam Film Festival
• 2007. Videomedija, Novi Sad
• 2007. Oberhausen Short Film Festival
• 2007. Loop Video Art Festival, Barcelona
• 2007. Les Rencontres International, Madrid, Berlin, Paris
• 2007. Sydney Film Festival
• 2007. Indielisboa Film Festival
• 2007. Transat Video, Caen-Cedex
• 2007. !f Istanbul, Festival of Independent Films
• 2007. Winterthur Short Film Festival, Switzerland
• 2006. San Francisco Cinematheque
• 2006. Trafo Center of Arts, Budapest
• 2006. International Documentary Film Festival, Amsterdam
• 2006. Zagreb Film Festival
• 2006. Württembergischer Kunstverein, Stuttgart
• 2006. Danish Film Institute, Kopenhagen
• 2006. Oberhausen Short Film Festival
• 2005. The Sculpture Center, New York
• 2005. Badischer Kunstverein, Karlsruhe

Selected Prizes, Grants and Residencies: 

• 2011. Interart Graduate College, DFG (German Research Foundation) at Freie Universitat Berlin, Berlin, Germany
• 2009. DAAD Doctoral Research Scholarship (Freie Universität, Interarts Graduate College)
• 2008. Solyst Artist in Residency, Denmark
• 2008. Israeli Center for Digital Art Residency, Holon, Israel
• 2007. Tiger Award for Short Film, Rotterdam Film Festival
• 2007. Onda Curta Award, Indielisboa Film Festival
• 2007. Special Jury Prize, Dokufest, Kosovo
• 2007. Sphinx Award, Videomedeja, Novi Sad, Serbia
• 2007. EMARE Grant, Werkleitz, Halle
• 2007. Askhal Alwan Residency, Beirut
• 2006. Special Mention Prize, Zagreb Film Festival
• 2006. Kuenstlerhauser Worpswede, Germany
• 2006. Künstlersymposium ORTung, Strobl, Austria
• 2005-1998. Platform Garanti Residency Programme
• 2005-1998. Project Grant of the Moon and Stars Foundation
• 2005-1998. Project grant of the Jerome Robbins Foundation
• 2005-1998. Project grant of The American Center Foundation
• 2005-1998. Watermill Center, Long Island, New York, USA

Selected Bibliography:

• 2012. Kielmayer, O. We are All Beautiful, Flash Art, May-June
• 2012. Bloch, E. In the Eyes of Köken Ergun, Focal Magazine, issue 260, 5 June
• 2012. Bouteloup, M. (ed.) Transcript of an Interview with James Dandan, in Le Journal de La Trienalle, Issue 4, 18 May
• 2011. Latimer, Q. Postcard from Zurich, Frieze Blog, 19 December
• 2011. Kiger, R. Köken Ergun and the Art of Anthropology, Sunday's Zaman, 16 October
• 2011. Kielmayer, O., White, I., Deniz, E. (eds.) Who am I Anyway: Three Interviews with Köken Ergun, Kunsthalle Winterthur Publications, Berlin, Germany
• 2011. Ovesen, S., Gregos, K. (eds.) The Eye is a Lonely Hunter: Images of Mankind, 4. Fotofestival Mannheim, Ludwigshafen, Heidelberg (Cat.), Kehrer Verlag, September
• 2011. Wahjudi, C. Wowereits Letztes Geschenk: "Based in Berlin", Zitty Magazine, 17 July
• 2011. Schneider, K. ReCoCo: Resignation, Conspiracy, Corruption. Domus Magazine (Web), 16 June
• 2011. Wir Kinder Von "Based in Berlin", Monopol Magazin, 7 June
• 2011. Knöfel, U. Wovi Center, Der Spiegel, Issue 23, 4 June 2011
• 2011. Ersoy, O. Unexpected Scenes from a Human Right’s Video Archive in Suspended Spaces, Blackjack Editions, Paris, Jan
• 2010. Durmusoglu, O. Another Country (Cat.), IFA publishers
• 2010. Kiger, R. Exhibition explores aftermath of turkey’s 1980 military coup, Today’s Zaman, 13 September
• 2009. White, I. Köken Ergun: Personal Works of Public Ceremonies, Ars Cameralis
• 2009. Özgüven, F. Her Yer Sinema, Radikal, 17 September
• 2008. Miskovic, T. U-Turn (Cat.), U-Turn Quadriennial Publishers
• 2008. Sorensen, R. Et Kunstvaerk Korte Gennem Byen, Information, 3 July
• 2008. Liambeys, L. Sampling: Seven Turkish Artists in the Centre of Popular Arts, Kaput, July
• 2008. Kealy, S. (ed.) Signals in the Dark (Cat.), University of Toronto Press, March
• 2008. Kim, S. (ed.) Somewhere in Time (Cat.), Art Sonje Museum, January
• 2007. Zonnenberg, N. L’enfer C’est les Autres, (Cat.), SMBA, Amsterdam, July
• 2007. Majaca, A. if i am right and good, show me your happiness, smile. Zivot Umjetnosti, issue 81
• 2007. Koyoglu, O. Türkiye’nin En Sanatsal Ilan Panosu, Aksam, 8 July
• 2007. Altug, E. Geri Dönüsüm Zamaninin Gögü Yamayan Emekcileri, Gazetem.net, 29 May
• 2007. Öztat, I. Ekranda Pera Esnafi: Köken Ergun ile Ropörtaj, Esnaf Dergisi, May
• 2007. Jin, H. Somewhere in Time, Joongang, 23 February
• 2007. Tasciyan, A. Kisa filmdeki Büyük Dersler, Milliyet, 1 February
• 2007. Richter, M. Naked Life (Cat.), MOCA Taipei Publications, February
• 2006. Dong-shin,S. Two Retrospectives of Korean Art, The Korea Times, 25 December
• 2006. Paynter, N. Inspiration of Home: An Interview with Köken Ergun, PAJ: A Journal of Performance and Art 85, December
• 2006. Dagen,P. Helter/Helter, Le Monde, 17 June
• 2006. Eliat, G. People, Land, State (Cat.) Israeli Center for Digital Arts, May
• 2006. Mueler, C. Brüllt Mal Jemand?, Tageszeitung JungeWelt, 12 May
• 2006. LaTourelle, R. The Peninsula (Cat.) Singapore Fringe Festival, February
• 2005. Folie, S. Young Performers:The Winner is the Family, Work:Art in Progress, Fall
• 2005. Altındere, H & Özmen, S. Free Kick (Cat.), Artist Publications, Istanbul
• 2004. Kortun, V. Placebo Effect (Cat.), December
• 2004. Cangüven, Ö. Jön Türk Hareketi, Radikal, 16 July
• 2004. Smith, R. Art in Review: Rimbaud, New York Times, 30 July
• 2004. Ayas, D. How I Terrorized Europe: An Interview with Köken Ergun, Maviology, issue 23
• 2003. Paynter, N. Exhibition Review Parachute, issue: 010, April

Publications by/for Köken Ergun:

• 2011. Ergun, K. Nostalgia Overdose: Homesickness in Wedding Ceremonies of the Turkish-German Community in Berlin, Paragnara, Issue number 20
• 2011. Kielmayer, O., White, I., Deniz, E. Ergun, K. (eds.) Who am I Anyway: Three Interviews with Köken Ergun, Kunsthalle Winterthur Publications, Berlin, Germany
• 2009. Heck P. (ed.) A Crash on Queens: Interview with Köken Ergun, Netherlands Media Institute, May
• 2006. Paynter, N. Inspiration of Home: An Interview with Köken Ergun, PAJ: A Journal of Performance and Art 85, December
• 2006. Ergun K. Representation of Stress on the Contemporary Body, unpublished Master Thesis (available at Istanbul Bilgi University Library Collections and indexofworks.com)

Public Collections

• Centre Pompidou, Musée National d’Art Moderne, France
• Museum of Contemporary Art Athens, Greece

Private Collections

• Bilge & Haro Cumbusyan Collection, Turkey
• Opymos Collection, Turkey

Distribution

• Montevideo/Netherlands Media Art Institute
• Video Data Bank, USA