In our curators inside the industry season, we have founder of Artate Zeynep Yuksel. Artate is an online gallery that offers originals and print editions of emerging artists for the next generation of art collectors at accessible Prices. Zeynep began her journey while studying a business major in Istanbul, then going on to complete an MA in Fine art history in Paris.
It is essential to develop a relationship with important collectors, artist and others in the art world. A good curator needs to research upcoming artists and related subjects.
Zeynep Yuksel
Zeynep wanted work in a gallery, but not a traditional one, as she is an avid art collector and she found it was quite challenging to discover emerging artists if you do not know where to look. So she combined her education in business and art to start Artate, to connect both entities, the emerging artists and new collectors.
Artate roster is unique and is home to such artist as contemporary expressionist James Green, Printmaker and sculptress Alice Irwin, Natalia Gonzalez Martin to name a few. In this interview, we will be getting to know more about Zeynep and Artate gallery, her inspiration, her curating process, and more.
Q: First things first, why do you do what you do?
Zeynep Yuksel: Living in many different cities my whole life, I had the chance to meet very interesting people and work in different art fields, including public and private art enterprises. Each one of them had a unique business model and helped me how I vision art today. Many of my classmates went into the art world after college.
In 2018, I found Artate Art, which is an online art gallery to inspire new generation of art collectors with its curated selection of contemporary artworks. Artate was founded with two aims; supporting talented artists in the early stages of their careers and making art buying as easy and accessible as possible.
Q: What is your inspiration?
Zeynep Yuksel: Traveling and being away from my comfort zone. I love things that challenges me.
Q: What is your creative process when you’re curating for exhibitions?
Zeynep Yuksel: Thinking outside the box!
Q: When you’re selecting works from artists, what do you look for in an artist?
Zeynep Yuksel: I represent artists I believe in. I focus on quality rather than the quantity of their work. I try to work with artists who are motivated with a clear vision and easy to work with.
Q: What strength or weakness do you look for when you’re selecting a venue for an exhibition?
Zeynep Yuksel: Lighting, lighting, lighting.
Q: The display of artwork is essential to an exhibition experience; how do you decide on where each work should be placed for the best experience for the viewer?
Zeynep Yuksel: Good amount of space and distance between the work and the viewer is essential. I do not like crowded spaces.
Q: What situations might occur that would cause you to rethink an exhibition?
Zeynep Yuksel: Not being able to present the right perspective of an exhibition.For me a perfect exhibition should be a combination of content, context, and medium. They have to become whole and complete each other.
Q: What would you say is an integral part to the work of an art curator?
Zeynep Yuksel: It is essential to develop a relationship with important collectors, artist and others in the art world. A good curator needs to research upcoming artists and related subjects. A good curator needs to be up to date!
Q: What do you find important about preserving history?
Zeynep Yuksel: A curation means to “take care”or to “look after”. Art and culture is our heritage to younger generation so it is important to preserve our culture.
Q: What do you think is the primary challenge facing exhibitions today?
Zeynep Yuksel: Younger audience engagement! Galleries and museums need to involve younger generation in their programmes and public events. Today visitors don’t feel welcome, they need to create an engagement between the audience and the space.
Q: What do you believe are most effective ways for marketing exhibitions?
Zeynep Yuksel: This is probably the most common answer, but I believe in the power of social media these days. Today, we can reach as many people as possible when the marketing is done right.
Q: What do you like and dislike about the galleries/exhibitions?
Zeynep Yuksel: Internet is reshaping the art world and I like how galleries are becoming more online and changing their traditional vision.
Q: In your opinion, where do you see the future of art curation in 10 years?
Zeynep Yuksel: I think the meaning of curator will evolve and new job titles will be created. Cause soon the galleries and museums will realize that the millennials are the future collectors and they hate anything traditional so they will have to hire people from different industries to create a different experience for the next generation of art collectors to buy and get involve with art.
For example at Artate, we curate couple of different exhibitions online. Soon we will be able to offer 3D exhibitions for all our collectors around the world. I think it is important to create a feeling between a space and a buyer. Yes, I believe 3D exhibitions will be a necessity for any online art gallery.
Q: Do you have any advice for curators starting out and don’t know where to begin?
Zeynep Yuksel: I would say go outside and communicate with people. Attend as many art events as possible. Don’t be afraid to talk to people. And lastly I would say believe in yourself and never give up.
Q: Is there anything that worries you about how social media is affecting the promotion of artists, exhibitions and museums
Zeynep Yuksel: I would not call this as a concern but accessing to the art world has changed completely. No doubt, social media is reshaping the art world. People have always seen the art world as an impossible reach but nowadays with social media channels it gives them a sort of feeling of ownership of the work when they share a photo of an artwork from an art fair.
https://www.instagram.com/artate.art/
© 2019 Zeynep Yuksel and Artate
Len is a curator and a contributing writer at Art Plugged, a platform for contemporary art; he also engages in web development, design, and marketing.
