my name is onur çiftci and i was born in 1986 in istanbul, turkey.
i hold a b.s. degree on physics from middle east technical university, where i studied between 2005 and 2011. during my bachelor studies, i had the chance to attend courses held by ulus baker, jale erzen, tahir kocayiğit and thomas thomas balkenhol, where i received practical and theoretical education on audio-visual arts. my knowledge gave me the chance to produce and perform artistic works in different mediums such as photography, video art projects, music performances and installations. i participated in music festivals, webzines and international group exhibitions both in turkey and abroad.
after completing my b.s. degree, my interest in social sciences and humanities directed me to a study in a related field. i received an m.a. degree on cultural studies from istanbul bilgi university where i studied between 2012 and 2015.
i completed my master thesis "selling berlin by the pound: a critical study on urban and demographic outcomes of post-touristic berlin’s commodification" under prof. bülent somay's supervision. also during my master's education i participated with articles in books such as "biz o konuyu daha görmedik" and "queer/gender/historiographie – aktuelle tendenzen und projecte"
syrian civil war and refugees' problems deeply affected me. since my graduation in 2015, i am working at an non-governmental, non-profit resettlement support center, where we assist refugees during their resettlement process to united states.
also, since 2014, i serve as the founding moderator of the facebook group "kalpler erisin". the group started as a small number of friends, whose aim was only to share images of cute and fluffy animals. the group served as a safe habitat to people who wished to flee from the life's daily stress and internet's toxicity. today, with its almost 30 thousand members, the group stands as a micro-community.
the intensity of my job, moderation tasks of the facebook group and istanbul's chaotic urban life made me to give a mandatory break to my artistic and intellectual production; however, i consider this time being as a transition stage, which will be followed by productivity phase.
curently, i am mostly focusing on my job and my facebook group.
finally, i can list my areas of interest as: international relations, middle east studies, inequality studies, minority and diaspora groups, urban studies, tourism, nationalism & militarism, modernities, 4th industrial revolution, automation, digitization, data manipulation, glitch and memory.
