Dr Cansu Curgen

Exhibitions and artworks

2024–2025

Invitational Group Exhibition 'Ambiguous Standards of Food and Overspecification: Kitchen', in Farmland: Food, Justice, and Sovereignty

Curators: at the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University was co-curated by Teresa Fankhänel (former Associate Curator) and Dalina A. Perdomo Álvarez

• Co-author and co-design lead with Avşar Gürpınar
• MSU Broad Museum, Michigan, US
• November 2024 – July 2025
• Funded: USD 34,000

2023

Awarded Commission – Public Art Installation 'When Pigs Fly | Balık Kavağa Çıkınca'

• Co-author and design lead with Avşar Gürpınar
• Yankose Contemporary Art Space, Istanbul, TR
• April – November 2023
• Funded: GBP 15,000 (Yankose Selection Committee, Altınkılıçlar and Kahve Dünyası)

2022

Selected Group Exhibition 'Ambiguous Standards of Time', Jerusalem Design Week 2022

• Curators: Dana Benshalom, Danielle Weinberg, Anad Safran, Tal Erez
• Hansen House, Jerusalem, Israel
• June 2022
• Funded: GBP 3,100

Invitational Solo Exhibition 'Ambiguous Standards Institute: A Travelling Exhibition'

• Martin Hall Gallery, Loughborough University, UK
• January – February 2022
• Funded: LU Arts

2021

Invitational Solo Exhibition 'An Institute Within an Institute'

• Curators: Zoë Ryan, Maite Borjabad López-Pastor
• Art Institute of Chicago (AIC), USA
• March – June 2021
• Funded: USD 54,000

2019

Selected Group Exhibition 'Ambiguous Standards of Electricity', Jerusalem Design Week 2019

• Curators: Anad Safran, Tal Erez
• Hansen House, Jerusalem, Israel
• July 2019
• Funded: GBP 3,000

Invitational Group Exhibition (Tri-venue presentation) 'A School of Schools'

• Curator: Jan Boelen
• Associate Curators: Nadine Botha, Vera Sacchetti
• Venues:
  1. 4th IKSV Istanbul Design Biennial, Pera Museum, Istanbul, TR (September – November 2018)
  2. LUMA Days, Luma Arles: Parc des Ateliers, Arles, France (June 2019)
  3. C-Mine, Genk, Belgium (June – September 2019)
• Funded: USD 3,000

2018

Commission Awarded – 16th International Architecture Exhibition 'Vardiya / The Shift', La Biennale di Venezia

• Role: Associate Curator
• Collaborators: Kerem Piker (Curator), Yelta Köm, Yağız Söylev, Nizam Sönmez, Erdem Tüzün (associate curators)
• Sale d'Armi, Arsenale, Venice, Italy
• May – November 2018
• Funded: EUR 400,000

Assistant Coordinator – Event and Space Design 'A Roaming Table', part of Tables: Designing New Forms of Curation

• Guest Curator: Dr Alexandra Midal
• Project Lead: Dr Jana Scholze
• In partnership with: British Council TR
• Crimean Church, Istanbul, TR
• November 2018

2016

Invitational Group Exhibition 'Toyscapes', in Turkey Design Chronology: A Draft

• Co-lead with Avşar Gürpınar
• 3rd Istanbul Design Biennial, curated by Beatriz Colomina & Mark Wigley
• Studio X, Istanbul, TR
• October – November 2016
• Funded: USD 2,000

International Exhibition 'The New Domesticity: Furniture Issue'

• Curation and exhibition design with Avşar Gürpınar
• Dutch Design Week, Eindhoven, Netherlands
• October 22–30, 2016

Selected Group Exhibition (Dual venue) 'R-Autoprogettazione?' – Open Design Experimentation

• Exhibition design and coordination with Avşar Gürpınar and Görkem Özdemir
• Venues:
  1. Studio-X, Istanbul, TR (August 19 – September 9, 2016)
  2. Cumulus Conference, HK Design Institute, Hong Kong (November 21–24, 2016)
• Funded: USD 3,000 (Columbia University)

2015

Selected Group Exhibition 'AgCc Des. Arch. Ind. T. Co. Ltd. Lol.'

• 3rd IABA International Architecture Biennial
• Antalya, Turkey
• September – October 2015
• Funded: USD 1,000

2014

Interactive Installation 'Take Something / Leave Something'

• Istanbul Modern, Istanbul, TR
• April – May 2014

Exhibition Setting Design 'Disobedience Archive (Park)'

• Collaborators: Architecture for All
• Curators: Marco Scotini, Andris Brinkmanis
• SALT Beyoğlu, Istanbul, TR
• April – June 2014

Selected Group Exhibition 'TWTRATE', 2nd Istanbul Design Biennial

• Curator: Zoë Ryan, Associated Curator: Meredith Carruthers
• Galata Greek Primary School, Istanbul, TR
• November – December 2014
• Funded: USD 3,000

2012

Selected Group Exhibition 'The Bomb'

• 1st Istanbul Design Biennial
• Co-curated by Joseph Grima & Emre Arolat
• Istanbul Modern Museum, Istanbul, TR
• October – December 2012
• Funded: USD 3,000

Artworks in permanent collections

• 'Ambiguous Standards of Unknowledge: Archive', 2026. The saai | Archive for Architecture and Engineering, KIT Karlsruhe, Permanent Collection
• 'Ambiguous Standards of Over-Specification: Kitchen', 2018-20. MSU Broad Art Museum, Permanent Collection. Ref No: 2024.22.1
• 'Ambiguous Standards of Over-Specification: Food, 2018-24. MSU Broad Art Museum, Permanent Collection. Ref No: 2024.22.2
• 'Ambiguous Standards of Time: When Pigs Fly', 2024. LED Screens x4. LU-Arts Collection, Loughborough University. Permanent installation
• 'Ambiguous Standards of Food: Eggs and Holders', 2018-20. The Art Institute of Chicago, Permanent Collection. Ref No: 2021.55
• 'Art Institute of Chicago Collection Images Projection', 2020. Single-channel video, 7:33 min. The Art Institute of Chicago, Permanent Collection. Ref No: 2021.113
• 'Graphic Design Poster Collection: Ambiguous Standards' (28 artworks), 2020. The Art Institute of Chicago, Permanent Collection. Ref Nos: 2021.126.1 to 2021.126.1.28

PhD supervision

• Elif Nur Adiguzel, (started October 2025) Principal Advisor, Loughborough SABCE, R1
• Seda Oznal, (started October 2024) Second Advisor, Loughborough SDCA, R2
• Shuhua Ye (started October 2025) Second Advisor, Loughborough SABCE, R1

• Curgen, C. and Gurpinar, A. 'Mimarlik ve Set Tasarimi / Architecture and Stage Design'. Arredamento Mimarlik, 333, p.65-67. 2019. ISSN: 2536-4952
• Curgen, C. 'Venedik'ten Bienal Notlari / Veni Vidi Vardiya'. Arredamento Mimarlik, 322, p.58-89. 2018. ISSN: 2536-4952
• Curgen, C. 'Hayaller Paris Gercekler Sanzelize / Paris Dreams, Sanzelize Realities'. Arredamento Mimarlik, 306, p.85-96. 2017. ISSN: 2536-4952
• Curgen, C. 'Tasarim Pratiklerinde Acik Kaynak Ne Kadar Acik? / How Open Is the Open Source in Design Practices?'. Betonart 45, p.38-43. 2015. ISSN: 1304-494X
• Curgen, C. and Gurpinar, A. 'Nesnenin Ozu Formun Kesinligi: Enzo Mari'. Betonart 48, p.30-33. 2015. ISSN: 1304-494X
• Curgen, C. 'Cephe Gridi / Facade Grid'. Serbest Mimar 19, p.35-37. 2014. ISSN: 1309-9498
• Curgen, C. 'Rekreasyona Ayrilmis Bir Kamusal Alanin Rekronomik Peyzaja Donusturulmesi'. Gezi Parki Dosyasi in XXI, July-August, p.41. 2013. ISSN: 1303-9598

Beyond module leadership, I coordinate workshops, summer schools, and experiential learning across scales: from international symposia to community-engaged live projects with local schools. Recent pedagogical innovations include Technology-Enhanced Learning initiatives (LU Teaching Innovation Award, 2025) and co-curating immersive learning experiences. As Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, my teaching philosophy centres on integrating critical spatial theory with hands-on design praxis, and fostering collaborative, socially engaged design practice among students.

Undergraduate

• Part A Architecture – Design Studio Tutor
• Part A – Cross-school Professional Practice (Module Leader)
• Part B Architecture – Design in Context (Module Leader)
• Part C Architecture – Year Tutor
• Part C UG Supervision of dissertations on topics aligned to my research interests
• Part I – UG Placement Tutor

Postgraduate

• Part II MArch Architecture (Professional) Year 1 – Contemporary Cities: Theory and Design (Module Leader)
• Part II MArch Architecture (Professional) Year 2 – Supervision of dissertations on topics aligned to my research interests

Short courses & Workshops

• 'Seaweed Pavilion 02' in LFA2026 'Belonging', Showcase of the DeLIGHT Structures Research Group's summer school pavilion, exhibition co-lead by Matyas Gutai, tutor, prototyping and workshop facilitator for the test structure assembly, with Hawkins Brown London and Loughborough University, March–June 2026
• 'Evocative Architecture', LU-Arc Summer School, Tutor, with Heatherwick Studio (Humanise Campaign), co-led by Prof Rob Schmidt III and Dr Cagri Sanliturk, Loughborough University, September 2024
• Athena SWAN STEAM Workshop Series for female-identified high-school students, Tutor, Loughborough University SABCE, June 2022, 2023 and 2024
• ‘Fallow Thinking', LU-Arc Summer School, Tutor, with La Fraud (Audrey Samson and Francisco Gallardo), co-led by Prof Rob Schmidt III and Dr Cagri Sanliturk, SABCE Loughborough University, 10–19 September 2022
• 'Taking Scarpa for a Walk', International Workshop, Coordinator, with Elena Pazzaglia and Avsar Gürpınar, 16th International Architecture Exhibition La Biennale di Venezia, Pavilion of Turkey, Sale d'Armi, Arsenale, Venice, Italy, 16–22 July 2018
• 'Architecture as Critical Media', International Workshop, Coordinator with Nadine Botha, 16th International Architecture Exhibition La Biennale di Venezia, Pavilion of Turkey, Sale d'Armi, Arsenale, Venice, Italy, 09–15 July 2018
• 'Protocol', Drawing and Treasure Hunting Workshop in the Tahtakale District, Coordinator, Kadir Has University, Istanbul, 28 March – 1 April 2018
• 'Give It Another Chance', Concrete Design Workshop, Tutor, Betonart Architecture Summer School, Bursa Beton, Bursa, 20–29 August 2017
• 'Creature Comforts', Summer Practice Course, Coordinator, Istanbul Bilgi University, Istanbul, 13 June – 1 July 2016
• CUP 'Critical Urban Practice', Workshop Series, Coordinator with Dr Emrah Altinok, Istanbul Bilgi University, Istanbul, 8–9 October 2016
• Vernal Workshops III 'Collaboration' (U-Topic Time: International Workshops of Architecture, Design and Art), Tutor, with Sophie Warren and Jonathan Mosley, Istanbul Bilgi University, Istanbul, 19–23 April 2014

As co-founder of the Ambiguous Standards Institute (ASI), I conduct research-based artistic practice investigating the social implications of design standards. ASI's work spans exhibition, publication, and public commission; pieces are held in permanent collections at the Art Institute of Chicago, Michigan State University Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum, and the saai Archive for Architecture and Civil Engineering. Recent major projects include the public art commission "When Pigs Fly" (Istanbul, 2023), the solo exhibition "An Institute Within an Institute" (Art Institute of Chicago, 2021), and associate curatorial roles at the 16th Venice Architecture Biennale (2018). ASI has received over GBP 150,000 in exhibition and research funding across institutional and public art contexts.

My research and teaching are characterised by the integration of theory and practice. Current interests focus on archival methodology, spatial classification systems, and the politics of the everyday. I have received an Invitational Archival Residency with the Lise Meitner Group "Coded Objects" co-hosted at saai KIT Karlsruhe and the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz (Max-Planck-Institut) in 2026, and multiple Teaching Innovation Awards at Loughborough. I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Professional Affiliations

• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (UK), 2023
• Member of The Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects (UCTEA) – Licensed Architect, Istanbul, TR, 2011 – Present
• Project Coordinator, volunteer work in “Architecture for All” Non-Profit Organisation, providing architectural services for disadvantageous groups of society, TR, 2012-2013
• Member of Organisation Committee, Editor of Web Publishing, MSGSU International Yunus Aran Architectural Conferences, Istanbul, TR, 2008-2020

Awards

• LU-SABCE The Extra Mile Award. Loughborough University ABCE Academic Category School Awards, UK | 2023
• 1st Prize, National Architectural Design Competition. Ministry of National Education Turkey, Mardin Education Campus (KPM Design) | 2013
• 2nd Prize, National Graduation Project Competition. ARCHIPRIX Turkey, ‘Provocation’ | 2011
• 2nd Prize, National Student Award, Turkey ARCHED Association for Architectural Education | 2011

External Activities

• Artist Talk, ‘Archiving the Unknown’ KIT Karlsruhe Institute of Technology - saai | Archiv für Architektur und Ingenieurbau, the Lise Meitner Group's series ‘Coded Objects’ July 2026
• Artist Talk, ‘The Making Of: Archival Crates with the Ambiguous Standards Institute’ Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz – Max-Planck-Institut, the Lise Meitner Group's series ‘Coded Objects’ July 2026
• Artist Talk, Ambiguous Standards Institute, MSU Broad Art Museum, East Lansing. 2025
• Artist Talk, Ambiguous Standards Institute: Research-based Arts and Design Practice, WAWUT Talks, METU, Ankara, 2024
• Artist Talk Akbank Sanat Open Dialogue, 'Institute as an Art and Design Practice', Curating Contemporary Art Seminar Programme, Istanbul. 2024
• Artist Talk, Ambiguous Standards of Time, Pint of Science! Festival, Loughborough, 2025
• Invited Critic, Norwich University of Arts, BA (Hons), Architectural Ecologies, Design Studio Year 3. February and April 2026
• Invited Speaker, Loughborough University, SDCA, UK, May 2023
• Invited Speaker, Istanbul Technical University, TR, April 2023
• Invited Speaker, Istanbul Bilgi University, TR, September 2022
• Invited Speaker, Penn State Stuckeman School Architecture, September 2022
• Interviewed for EkoTurk TV Channel, TR, Balik Kavaga Cikinca, 2023 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vc9kn7ZUc4Q&list=PLzDTlpT_wsyjZWTYGx5Cy8tLVe4MeUZNf&index=2
• Featured and interviewed in Cumhuriyet, Haberturk, Milliyet, Hurriyet Newspapers, TR for the project ‘When Pigs Fly’, Istanbul TR, April 2023
• Featured in DAMN Magazine, words by Gabrielle Kennedy 'All Eggs Are Not Equal' - in conversation with Cansu Cürgen and Avşar Gürpınar of ASI, on Damn Magazine 77 'A Conversation on Happiness' https://www.damnmagazine.net/editions/77/
• Interview with curator Maite Borjabad López-Pastor on AIC website: 'Making “An Institute within an Institute”: A Conversation with Cansu Cürgen and Avşar Gürpınar' and the Art Institute of Chicago https://www.artic.edu/articles/911/making-an-institute-within-an-institute-a-conversation-with-cansu-curgen-and-avsar-gurpinar
• Featured on the ‘Hayat Sanat’ Programme, Turkish State National Television Channel for Arts and Culture, ‘Ambiguous Standards Institute is in Chicago’, 8 April 2021
• Quoted and featured in ‘Curating for Whom?’, by Zoë Ryan; featuring the works of ASI on the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians (2020) 79 (4): 381–392 https://doi.org/10.1525/jsah.2020.79.4.381
• Invited Speaker for AURA Forum #6 Designers’ Summit, 2021 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lJjoP9LIg8
• Interview with Oktay Orhun, for Argonotlar - Güncel Sanat (TR) Contemporary Arts, 2021 https://argonotlar.com/muglak-standartlar-enstitusu-ve-sikago-yolculugu/
• Interviewed in DOMUS ‘Ambiguous Standards and Everyday Geopolitics’, Salvatore Peluso, 2019 https://www.domusweb.it/en/design/gallery/2019/07/01/ambiguous-standards-and-everyday-geopolitics.html
• Radio Broadcasting Series for Acik Radyo, Istanbul TR, Muglak Standartlar Sozlugu 2018-2019
• Interviewed for the Turkish State National Television Channel TRT World “Showcase Programme on Venice Biennale of Architecture” Aired in May 2018
• Featured in ICON Magazine ‘Spaces of Exception’, by Priya Khanchandani, December 2018
• Interviewed on Disegno Podcast series ‘Back to School’, September 27th, 2018
• Featured on Archdaily ‘Vardiya / the Shift: The Turkish Pavilion at the 2018 Venice Biennale’, 2018
• Featured on E-flux ‘Vardiya / the Shift’, May 2018

Key collaborators

My research and enterprise activities are conducted with a range of academic and stakeholder partners, including:

• KIT – Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, The saai | Archiv für Architektur und Ingenieurbau is the Southwest German Archive for Architecture and Civil Engineering
• KHI – The Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz Max-Planck-Institut, Lise Meitner Group "Coded Objects" 
• IKSV – Istanbul Culture and Arts Foundation, TR
• AIC – The Art Institute of Chicago, US
• JDW, Hansen House Center for Design, Media and Technology, Jerusalem, IL
• Istanbul Modern Museum, TR
• Istanbul Bilgi University, TR
• Architecture for All Association, TR
• Studio-X Istanbul -Columbia University GSAPP Studio X Network, TR
• Kahve Dunyasi – Yankose Contemporary Art project, Istanbul, TR
• British Council, TR