Tuesday April 1, 2025 | 6:30 PM
Location: Residency Unlimited
360 Court Street, Brooklyn NY 11231 (map)
This program will be streamed online via Zoom at this link
Current RU curators in residence Maya Bamberger and Gülistan Kenanoğlu engage together in a discussion that explores how architecture, as a spatial and social practice, can expand the field of curating in conflict zones. A main focus of their talk is the recent exhibition Divine Violence, curated by Kenanoğlu at apexart and the exploration of strategies of curatorial engagement with violence and how to evade its reproduction, romanticization, or fetishization—building trust, friendship, and solidarity.
About
Gülistan Kenanoğlu is an architect, founder of the SB Arch Lab initiative with a Bachelor of Architecture, and an independent curator with an MA in Design & Curatorial Studies. Kenanoğlu’s work explores the complex relation of deconstruction and construction practices in the architecture of post-conflict cities by zooming into oriental studies and postcolonial theory. Further, she adopts a collaborative and participatory curatorial practice – exploring exposition and fetishism – going hand in hand with her architecture practice. Her works have been awarded several grants and exhibited at different institutions including; Apexart Gallery, BAK (basis voor actuele kunst), and Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV). She is currently doing a curatorial residency at Residency Unlimited.
Maya Bamberger is an independent curator and learner based in New Haven. She curates to transform antagonist predispositions into worldbuilding—always with the joy of others. From 2019 to 2023, she served as the curator at RawArt Gallery in Tel Aviv, where she curated numerous solo and group exhibitions. She also spearheaded the “Shuttle Project”, which supported emerging artists at the beginning of their careers. Maya has curated significant independent projects, including “Understandable Misunderstanding: How to be with art?”, an online group exhibition, and Hilla Toony Navok’s “Choreographing the Public: Rolling Rooms” at OnCurating Project Space in Zurich.
Maya holds a Master of Advanced Studies in Curating from Zurich University of the Arts and a BA in Art History and Cognitive Science from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, yet her primary teachers are the artists she works with. She is a 2024 cohort member of the School of Commons and recently initiated and edited the inaugural issue of Shoket magazine for curating. She has also participated in several residencies and fellowships, including Residency Unlimited, a virtual residency with Triangle Brooklyn in collaboration with Artis and a fellowship with the Alma program.
This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
This program is supported by Artis.
