Didem Pekün (1978, Istanbul) is an artist-filmmaker and academic based in London and Istanbul. She works across moving image, text, photography, sound and theory. Her previous works address questions of justice, political violence, displacement, and their myriad intersections. A recent shift in her practice moves from ‘history’ to ‘futurity,’ focusing on interspecies ethics in her current artistic research project.

For her, both artistic practice and pedagogy have always been about becoming—ephemeral communities working together toward a shared goal. Whether on a film set, in a classroom, or in a garden with more-than-human collaborators, she is driven by work that is liberatory while also being ecodependent; thinking through the combination of the two is her core motivation.

She exhibits internationally both in museum & exhibition contexts as well as festivals.

Didem received fellowships, funding and awards from University of the Arts Berlin, the Berlin Artistic Research Fellowship by the Senate, Institute of Advanced Studies at Central European University, SAHA Istanbul, Foundation for Arts Initiatives, British Council and was long listed for Gabriele Munter Prize.

She held residencies at Berlinale Talent Campus, IASPIS, ZK/U, Delfina Foundation and Between Bridges.

Her works are featured in the collections of Van Abbemuseum, Kadist, and MAXXI, as well as in private collections.

Didem is currently a Lecturer in Fine Arts, Critical Studies at Goldsmiths. Prior to joining Goldsmiths she was a lecturer at Koç, Sabancı, and Boğaziçi Universities, a visiting lecturer at Central European University, and a guest lecturer at Dutch Art Academy and Oslo Art Academy. She received her BA (Hons) in Music from SOAS and holds an MA and a PhD in Visual Cultures from Goldsmiths. She also was a co-founder of Center for Spatial Justice in Istanbul, a center for research and education on ecological justice.

studio@didempekun.com