Ekmel Ertan (TR)

Received his BSc degree in Electronics / Communication Engineering from Technical University of Istanbul and his MA degree on Interactive Media Design from Yıldız Technical University. Worked as design and test engineer on telecommunication systems Turkey (NETAŞ Northern Telecom – Istanbul), Germany (ALCATEL SEL- Stuttgart) and Belgium (ALCATEL BELL Lab. – Antwerp). After returning to Istanbul, started a multimedia design company of his own. Since 1999, teaching multimedia / visual communication design at Istanbul Bilgi University,Sabancı University, İstanbul Technical University, Yıldız Technical University. Exhibited his photography work at La Mama Gallery (“city and eye” – 1997) and at The Gallery Marmara-Manhattan (“alice in whirling land”- 2003) in New York. Exhibited his installations and cooperative performance works in several international venues. Ertan is co-organizer of TECHNE06 Istanbul International Digital Performans Platform. Ertan is the founder member of amber Beden-İşlemsel Sanatlar Derneği (Body-Process Arts Association), as a laboratory and research-and-production platform on new technologies in art. Ertan was the curator and director of the annual amberFestival since 2007 (amberfestival.org).

Current activities:

• Founder and artistic director of Beden-İşlemsel Sanatlar Derneği (BIS; Body-Process Arts Association)

• Artistic director and festival manager of amberFestivals (amber’07, amber’08 Arts and Technology Festival a-m-b-e-r.net)

• Participant artist and local director in IMMEDIATE project ( immersive, telematic dance performance research and production project sponsored by EU Culture 2007 Frame Programe, with 6 partner countries, led by CIANT-prague) on behalf of BIS

• Part-time instructor at Visual Arts and Communication Design Program, Faculty of Arts and Social Science, Sabancı University and at Information Technologies in Design Master Program at Istanbul Technical University

• Interactive art works as intallations and for stage performances.

Related links: http://www.forumist.com/  , , http://www.amberplatform.org/ , Ekmel Ertan on Vimeo