Lora Sariaslan

Dr. Lora Sariaslan is an Assistant Professor of Modern and Contemporary Art at Utrecht University's Department of History and Art History, affiliated with the Humanities Research Institute. She holds a PhD from the University of Amsterdam and has extensive curatorial experience globally, including roles at the Dallas Museum of Art and Istanbul Modern. Her academic work focuses on transnational art practices, migration, urban mapping, and postcolonial studies. Sariaslan teaches courses such as Curating the Art Exhibition: Past, Present and Future and contributes to programs like the Art History of the Low Countries (RMA).

Education:

• B.A. Art History, Knox College, Illinois
• M.A. Art History, University of Texas at Austin
• Ph.D., University of Amsterdam (Pins on the Map: Urban Mappings in European-Turkish Contemporary Art)

Research Interests: Modern/contemporary art's intersection with migration, cultural identity, and urban space. She explores how artists negotiate belonging through transnational practices, particularly in post-Yugoslav Europe and Turkey. Her work bridges curatorial praxis and academic research, emphasizing critical museum studies and heritage politics.

Recent Themes in Publications: Focus on humor in Turkish contemporary art, geopolitical affect through 'oriental rugs,' and artistic responses to displacement. Her articles analyze artists like Mounira Al Solh, Nilbar Güreş, and Servet Koçyiğit, highlighting themes of memory, spatial politics, and cultural hybridity.

Affiliations: Member of International Association of Art Critics (AICA), National Correspondent for European Museum Forum (EMF-Turkey). Curatorial projects include Uncharted (Bergen, 2023) and the Mardin Biennial (2012).

Teaching & Training: Oversees courses on global art history, museum studies, and transcultural encounters. Previously taught at University of Texas at Austin and University of Amsterdam.