BETÜL AKSU

Early Years and Background

Betül Aksu grew up in Izmir, developing an interdisciplinary intellectual foundation that informs her artistic practice today. She studied Linguistics at Hacettepe University in Ankara, before pursuing advanced degrees in Cognitive Science at the University of Trento and Language Science and Technology at Saarland University. This rigorous academic training in language and cognition shaped her critical interest in how systems—both linguistic and bureaucratic—shape human experience.

She went on to study a PhD in Media and Arts Technology at Queen Mary University of London, where she developed her distinctive artistic voice merging theory and creative practice. Following the global pandemic, Aksu relocated back to Izmir from London, where she now works. In 2023, she founded sezon, an independent art space in Izmir dedicated to exploring what she describes as ‘the politics and poetics of change’.

Betül Aksu’s Artworks

Betül Aksu creates multidisciplinary artworks—including installations, performances, video, printmaking and text-based work—that examine how boundaries, bureaucracy and language function in daily life. Her practice combines personal narratives with archival research and fictional elements, creating works that investigate the relationship between identity, permission and belonging.

Borders and Language as Material

Central to Aksu’s practice is language itself, which she treats as both a tool of control and a potential means of resistance. She is interested in how bureaucratic language normalises boundaries, restricts movement and reinforces hierarchies. In her research and installations, she conducts ‘close readings’ of official documents alongside subjective experiences of everyday life, often generating collaborative performances and artistic interventions that respond to these systems.

Permessus, 2024

Aksu’s significant body of work, Permessus, examines the remnants of an ancient city with an unknown history and undefined borders. The work’s title plays on the Italian word ‘permesso’ (permission) and ‘permesso di soggiorno’ (residence permit)—a deliberate linguistic strategy that reflects Aksu’s own experiences applying for work permits to live and create in Italy and the United Kingdom.

In Permessus, Aksu conducts what she describes as a ‘mental excavation’ of this imagined ancient site, exploring how cultural, social and political systems normalise the concept of borders. The exhibition comprises installations, video, photographs of archaeological sites, printed materials and memorabilia. Notably, the work incorporates a chatbot guide that processes Aksu’s research findings, raising critical questions about how knowledge is disseminated and verified. By reimagining an ancient city that requires no formal procedures for entry—a place accessible to those who follow imagination and intuition—Aksu proposes an alternative to contemporary border systems.

hold, place, transfer, repeat, 2024

Aksu’s first solo exhibition, presented at Material in Zurich, investigates similar themes around mobility, bureaucratic restrictions and the precarious conditions facing artists working across borders. The work considers how eligibility criteria in cultural institutions and funding systems reproduce forms of oppression through bureaucratic processes.

Research and Movement

At the BAK Fellowship for Situated Practice (2023–2024), Aksu explored ‘freedom of movement’ as a concept, documenting how the European Parliament’s declaration of the ‘Free Movement of Persons’ actually manifests—or fails to manifest—in the everyday lives of art workers navigating visa requirements, residency permits and work restrictions.

Betül Aksu’s Residencies and Fellowships

Betül Aksu has participated in significant artist residencies and fellowship programmes:

• Dwell Here Residency, Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA), Dublin, 2025
• SAHA Studio, Istanbul, 2024
• BAK Fellowship for Situated Practice, BAK basis voor actuele kunst, Utrecht, and Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV), Istanbul, 2023–2024
• Istanbul Biennial Production and Research Residency, Istanbul, 2022
• School of Commons Research Residency, Zurich University of the Arts, 2021–2022
• British Council Altcity Istanbul Residency, 2017

Select Awards and Accolades

• Creative Europe Liberty EU Art Commission, 2020–2022
• Queen Mary University of London Media and Arts Technology Doctoral Training Grant, 2015–2019
• Erasmus Mundus Language and Communication Technologies Scholarship, 2013–2015

Betül Aksu Exhibitions

Betül Aksu has been the subject of both solo exhibitions and group exhibitions at galleries and institutions across Europe and beyond. To follow upcoming exhibitions featuring Betül Aksu, [follow her on Ocula].

Select Solo Exhibitions

• Permessus, AVTO, Istanbul, 2024
• hold, place, transfer, repeat, Material, Zurich, 2024

Select Group Exhibitions

• SAHA Studio Open Studios, Istanbul, 2024
• Istanbul Biennial Production and Research Programme, Istanbul, 2022
• Bureau of Commons: Zurich entry, Zurich, 2021
• Here Eyes Under The Bridge, with Tara Fatehi Irani, LADA, London, 2017

Website and Social Media

Betül Aksu’s website can be found at betulaksu.com, and her Instagram documents her work and practice.

More Reading

Betül Aksu’s artistic practice and institutional residencies have been featured in contemporary art publications and platforms including IMMA, BAK and SAHA Studio. You can follow Betül Aksu on Ocula to be updated when new articles and news about the artist are published.

Betül Aksu FAQs

Ocula | 2026