Serkan Taycan is an artist, curator, and academic with a background in engineering and documentary photography. He holds an MA in Visual Arts from Sabancı University and in Photography from Aalto University. He is currently a PhD candidate at Carleton University’s School of Architecture, Ottawa.
His research examines urban transformation, infrastructure, and artistic activism related to the right to the city, focusing on Istanbul. Through media like photography, video, mapping, and walking, Taycan explores ecological and urban dynamics.
His work has been shown at various venues, including the Venice Architecture Biennale, Istanbul Biennial, MAXXI, MuCEM, SALT, Pera Museum, Istanbul Modern, and Sabancı Museum. His book, Agora #04: Taksim, was published in 2017. He has participated in artist residencies at Cité Internationale des Arts and the Delfina Foundation, and has taught at Bilgi, Bahçeşehir, and Carleton Universities, as well as lectured at institutions like the Iceland Academy of the Arts and Leeds Arts University. Taycan recently co-curated the exhibition titled Give Me Shelter at the SAW Centre in Ottawa, which addressed housing insecurity.