RESUME:

Diren is a humanoid visitor from outer space. In this lifetime, they explore the world as an interdisciplinary artist, curator, writer, queer activist, occultist, healer, and backpacker, guided by the journeys shaping their life and art.

Diren’s academic path began in the Ancient Greek department at the University of Istanbul in 2016. However, they soon left to hitchhike through ancient cities and temples before enrolling in the Sculpture program at Marmara University’s Faculty of Fine Arts. This journey profoundly influenced their work, with themes of paganism and reinterpreted rituals becoming central to their practice. The political climate in Turkey and the authoritarianism has also informed much of their art, which frequently addresses activism, civil disobedience, and practices of disclosure.

In 2018 they designed a project as a solution for disabled people whose can’t able to access to the cultural places and galleries, it’s called ”Barrier-Free Art Map“ which has been chosen 1.st Project of the “Art and Culture” category in HEG social responsibility project competition. In 2019, Diren’s Project ”Produce for Art“ which is based on developing reuned village schools by providing assistance and materials to fine art students whose can not afford their art ideas, has been chosen as the best in “Art and Culture” category again.

Diren’s literary works are mostly related to “LGBTI+ History” and “Art” topics. In 2018, they translated “S.T.A.R”. (”Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries“, Sub Press) to Turkish. In 2019 they compiled the book “A Night of June: Biographical Analysis of the Stonewall Riots” (org: “Bir Haziran Gecesi: Stonewall Devriminin Biyografik Çözümlemesi” , Kaos Çocuk Parkı Publishing). In the same year Diren was selected for the artist in residency program conducted between the European Union and Turkey, called “Be Mobile, Create Together”. With the support of the Netherlands Consulate, Diren produced conceptual performing artworks and photo series at the Rast Theater in Amsterdam.

In 2020, Diren collaborated with Performistanbul on live performances, delivered seminars on LGBTQ+ history, and curated Aesthetics of Struggle, uniting activist artists. They also won the 38th Akbank Contemporary Artist Prize for their interactive installation Beyond the Wall and participated in the Yazıhane program, supported by the Netherlands Consulate General and AICA NL.

From 2020-2021, Diren hosted Wild Side on Radio Modyan, showcasing avant-garde and queercore music by LGBTQ+ artists. In 2022, as an exchange student at Estonia’s Körgem Kunstikool Pallas, they exhibited Protection Spell at Pallas Gallery, their third solo show inspired by displacement and Ukrainian pagan traditions. That same year, Diren relocated to Berlin after being invited to join the Academy in Exile residency program, a collaboration between Frei University Berlin and Diusburg Essen University, aimed at supporting at-risk journalists, academics, and artists. Diren continues to create from Berlin, initiating artistic projects across Germany and worldwide.

AWARDS & GRANTS:

2018 – HEG Social Responsibility Awards, 1.st of “Art and Culture ” category.

2019 – HEG Social Responsibility Awards, 1.st of “Art and Culture ” category.

2020 – Akbank Art Center, 38th Akbank Contemporary Artist Prize

2023 – December / 2024 September – WeTransfer’s Supporting Act Foundation, Creative Bursary

2024 – Marmara University Faculty of Fine Arts – Honours Graduate, Cum Laude Grant

GROUP EXHIBITIONS:

15 October 2020 / 21 November 2020: “38th Today’s Contemporary Artists Exhibition” Group Exhibition at Akbank Art Center, Istanbul, Turkey (Video Link)

11-17 December 2021 : “Arcade”, Group Exhibition, BantMag Havuz Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey

20 September 2022 / 15 November 2022: “Kein schöner ___ in dieser Zeit”, Group Exhibition, MigraNetz Thüringen, Suhl, Nordhausen, Saalfeld

1-2 October 2022: BAAM Group Exhibition, Monopol Gallery Berlin

8 December 2022 / 01 January 2023: “Natural Reflections” Lichtkunstfestival Group Exhibition by Artspring, Milchhof Berlin

14-21 January 2023: “Fixing What is Broken” Group Exhibition by Academy in Exile, Apartment Project Berlin

25-26 February 2023: “Im Sinne des Kiezes” Urbane-Praxis Berlin

29 June / 29 July 2023: “Transformale”, Rechenzentrum Potsdam

23-28 August 2023: “Her*storical Utopia”, Seefrauenparade, Mom Art Space, Hamburg

02 February / 30 April 2024: “DENUNCIATION!”, ACC Gallery, Weimar

28-30 June 2024: “Urban Silence” 48 Stunden Neukölln, k-fetisch, Berlin

2-20 September 2024: “Sound 2024” LCB Depot, Leicester, England

19-21 September 2024: “Artist in Residence Austellung”, F23 Art Gallery, Vienna, Austria

18 October / 20 December 2024: Internatıonal Experimental Poetry Biennial, POSVERSO, Buenos Aires, Argentina

31 October / 20 December 2024: “THRIVE: Beyond Surviving”, Taber Art Gallery, Massachusetts, USA

4 September 2025: Jüdische Kunstschule Annual Exhibition, Alte Münze, Berlin

28 September 2025: 54H Art Squat Exhibition, Art Space in Exile, Berlin

8-15 November 2025: “CTRL Z / CTRL Y”, Deutsches Buch und Schriftmuseum, Leipzig

6 December 2025 – 1 March 2026: 13th “From Lausanne to Beijing” Fiber Art Biennale,  Tsinghua University Art Museum & Beijing A.C. Art Museum, China

ONLINE EXHIBITIONS:

1 August 2020 / 1 September 2020: “Remains of a walked path” Online Solo Exhibition at the Art Newspaper (Gazete Sanat)

24 June 2021: Through The Window Online Group Exhibition

13 June 2022 / 20 June 2022: “Do No Go Out of the Window”, Online Group Exhibition, Haze Gallery, Berlin

SOLO PERFORMANCES:

20 October 2019: “Confessional”, Solo Performance at the Rast Theather Amsterdam

13 November 2021: “Speak to the Water” Solo Performance at the Ostavinska Gallery, Belgrade

19 May 2022: “Speak to the Water” Solo Performance at tARTu Pood, Estonia

19 August 2022 / 21 August 2022: “Under the Bridge”, Kunstbrücke am Wildenbruch, Berlin  

3 November 2022: “Map of the Seas” Performance at Moos Space, Berlin

SOLO EXHIBITIONS:

28 October 2021 / 12 November 2021: “Leftovers of a Body” Solo Exhinibiton, Center424 Belgrade, Serbia

9 November 2021 / 13 November 2021: “On the Road” Solo Exhibition, Magacin Culture Center, Belgrade

03 May 2022 / 07 May 2022: “Protection Spell” Solo Exhibition, Tartu Estonia

25 October 2022 / 30 November 2022: “Archive of Disobedience” Solo Exhibition in Deutsches Literaturarchiv Marbach

CURATORSHIP:

“Aesthetics of Struggle” 10-11-12-13 July 2021, Akbank Art Center

“Colours of the Future” 9 January – 5 February 2022, Gazhane Museum, Co-Curator

“REVOLT: An Archive of Resistance” 5 April – 15 April 2023, Zemin Berlin Gallery

“Unhidden” 6-16 July 2024, Zemin Berlin Gallery

“Worthless Things” 9-31 May 2025, Question Arch & Fixotek Berlin

Workshops and Seminars presented by Diren Demir:

11th February 2020: “A Night of June: Biographical Analysis of the Stonewall Riots” for Lambda Istanbul LGBTI+ Association at Şişli Manucipality of Istanbul

11th March 2020: “A Night of June: Biographical Analysis of the Stonewall Riots” for Lambda Istanbul LGBTI+ Association at Şişli Manucipality of Istanbul

13th May 2020: “Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries and History of Early Age LGBT+ Associations” Online Seminar for Lambda Istanbul LGBTI+ Association

8-15-22-29th October 2020: “LGBTIQ+ History Workshop Series” for Yüksek Oda, Online Workshop Series

10-11 December 2020: “Queer Mythology”, Narmanlı Art Center

20-27th Febuary, 6-13-20-27th March 2021: “From ancient ages to present: LGBTIQ+ History Workshop Series” for Ayrinti Academy

28th – 29th May 2021: “Queer Mythology”, Online Workshop for Lummunity Platform

21st May 2022: “Queer Mythology and LGBTIQ+ History” Lecture at the Pallas University of Applied Sciences

1st February 2023: “Gentrification and Queer Exile in Istanbul” Lecture for Kulturwissenschaftliches Institut Essen

ARTIST TALKS:

28 October 2019, Rast Theater Amsterdam

31 May 2022, Academy in Exile, Frei University Berlin

15 September 2022, The Salon, Kulturschoepfer Berlin

10 November 2022, University of Duisburg Essen, as part of the Aurora University Network Biannual

23 February 2023, „Berlin’s Art Production in Exile and at Risk: Strategies of Self-Fashioning“ Art Space in Exlie, Berlin

02 June 2023,  As part of the 6th Berliner Herbstsalon GEZİ – TEN YEARS AFTER, Gezinema World Cinema Documentaries, Maxim Gorki Theater, Berlin

08 July 2023, Transformale Festival, Rechenzentrum Potsdam

EDUCATION:

2017 – 2024: Marmara University, Faculty of Fine Arts – Sculpture (BA)

2022: Pallas University of Applied Sciences, Sculpture
(Erasmus Exchange, Spring Semester)

2025: Jüdische Kunstschule Berlin, Filmmaking (Masterclass)

2025: Jüdische Kunstschule Berlin, Photograpghy & Video (Masterclass)

CERTIFICATES:

2010 – Theatre Certificate
Sarıyer Culture Center

2018 – 200 Hours Sivananda Yoga Teacher Training
Hara Yoga Vedanta Center / Yoga Alliance

2019 – 200 Hours Multistyle Yoga (Hatha/Vinyasa/Kundalini/Ayurveda) Teacher Training
So Shanti Yoga, India

2019 – Sound Healing Therapy Course
Kaliash Yoga School – Dhramshala, India

2019 – Robotic Coding Teacher Training
Marmara University

2019 – Art Direction
Bahcesehir University (BauArt)

2020 – Contemporary Art and Curatorship
Akbank Art Center & Open Dialogue Istanbul

2021 – Cinematography
Anadolu University

2022 – Building StartUp
Tartu University, Estonia

2023 – Art Therapy
Istanbul University / SEM

2024 – Indigenous Religions and Ecology
Yale University

2024 – VR and 360 Video Production
Google AR & VR

2025 – UI / UX Design
California Institute of the Arts

2025 – Antisemitism: From Its Origins to the Present
Yad Vashem The World Holocaust Remembrance Center

LANGUAGES:

Turkish (Native)
English (Fluent)
Spanish (Beginner)
Hebrew (Beginner)
German (Beginner)

VOLUNTEERING:

2017 – Qnushyo: Diren was an art teacher for refugee children from Syria.

2017 – I Will Be Free Project: Children whose born inside a prison in Turkey, can’t go outside for a certain time.
With the accomandation of Bilgi University Faculity of Communication, Diren has drawn murals of images from
outside world to the interior walls of prison.

2019 – Qnushyo : Diren was a volunteer yoga teacher for refugee children from Syria.

2019 – Community Volunteers Foundation: Diren was a volunteer of Human Library Project

2019 – Istanbul 2019 Pride Week: Diren has been participating as a volunteer organizer for the 2019 Istanbul Pride Week Exhibitions and also Social Media commission.

2020/2021: Lambda Istanbul LGBTI+ Association

PUBLICATIONS:

2018 – “S.T.A.R” ”Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries“ (Sub Press) – Translation

2019 – “A Night of June: Biographical Analysis of the Stonewall Riots” (Kaos Çocuk Parkı) – Compilation
ISBN: 9786057584571

2022: “Hail to the Fallen”, KÇP Publishing (Poetry & Illustration)
ISBN: 9786254152894

CONTRIBUTIONS:

2020 – “Street Poems Anthology”
İmgenin Çocukları Publishing
ISBN: 9786257984645

2020 – (BMTC) Be Mobile, Create Together Artist’s Book

2020 – Akbank Art Center 38th Contemporary Artists Exhibition Catalogue

2024 – What We Brought With Us: Things of Exile and Migration by Vanessa Agnew – transcript, The Academy in Exile Book Series
“Exile Things”
ISBN: 978-3-8376-7116-2

2025 – “Bridges – جْسُور – גשרים” Magazine
AphorismA Verlag
ISBN: 978-3-86575-734-0

2025 – “Re-Imagine, Now!”
MAF Journal No:1
Mafambane Collective

RESIDENCY AND RESEARCH PROGRAMMES:

November 2019: “BMTC, Be Mobile Create Together” Artist in Residency Programme, Rast Theather Amsterdam, NL

2020-2021: “Yazıhane” Art Writers Programme, sponsored by Netherlands Consulate General in collobration with AicaNL.

October-November 2021: “Belgrade Artist in Residency” Programme, Serbia.

May – August 2022: “Artist in Exile” Artist in Residency Fellowship by Freie Universität Berlin and Universität Duisburg-Essen.

February – May 2023, 28th International Studio Program, ACC Gallery and the City of Weimar

November 2023: Autmun School of Curating #5, Cluj-Napoca & Timisoara by Centrul Cultural Clujean and ArtEncounters

May 2025: Probability of Exchange. Flanders Art Institute, Gent, Belgium

September 2025: 54H Art Squat, Art Space in Exile, Berlin

EXPERIENCES:

2023 / 2024 – Zemin Art Space Berlin, Exhibition Coordinator

2021 – Dada Creatit, Art Consultant

2018 – Credit Bureau KKB, Marketing and Business Development Intership

ACADEMIC REFERENCES:

Billur Tansel – Contemporary Art & Curatorship Program

Director – tansel.billur@gmail.com (Istanbul, Turkey)

Rauno Thomas Moss – Körgem Kunstikool Pallas

Modelling Professor – raunothomas@gmail.com (Tartu, Estonia)