Merve Bedir
Merve Bedir (b. 1980, Kayseri, Turkey) is an architect based between the Netherlands and Turkey. Her practice focuses on infrastructures of hospitality and mobility. She is a founding member of Center for Spatial Justice (Istanbul), and Kitchen Collective (Gaziantep). Furthermore, she teaches at Design Academy Eindhoven.
Merve curated ‘Vocabulary of Hospitality’, Istanbul and Rotterdam (2014 and 2022); ‘uncommon river’, Plovdiv (2015); and co-curated ‘Automated Landscapes’ (2017-19). Her work has taken part in Istanbul Design Biennale (several editions), Urbanism and Architecture Biennale Shenzhen (several editions), Sao Paulo Architecture Biennale (2017), Venice Architecture Biennale (2021); and most recently exhibited in BAK Utrecht (2023), and Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum (2023). Her works were reviewed in The Guardian, Avery Review, and Frieze Magazine.
Merve has been immersing herself in Arabesk music for the past few years, delving into its intricate rhythms and exploring its distinctive atonality. By closely studying the work of its female singers, she seeks to understand how the genre influences movement and expression, particularly in the context of migrant experiences. Her initial findings are published in Solitude Journal 5 – A Sound Was Heard!, and the second part of her research will be featured in an upcoming issue of Errant Journal.