Turkish artist wins Peru Biennial Award

ISTANBUL

Mediha Didem Türemen, a Turkish artist known for her interdisciplinary work in cinema, photography and engraving, has been honored at the 2024 Peru Biennial in Lima.

Türemen, who is also the producer of Nuri Bilge Ceylan's 2023 Cannes Film Festival competitor “Kuru Otlar Üstüne” (About Dry Grasses) also participated in a conference held as part of the Biennial.

This year’s Peru Biennial brought together artists from various disciplines, aiming to highlight Latin America’s artistic dynamism on a global stage. The event evaluated 22,256 applications from 60 countries, ultimately selecting 560 works for display. The selection committee included renowned experts such as Carlos Gonzales (Peru), Elly Prestegard (Canada), Péter Pócs (Hungary), Monirul Alam (Bangladesh) and Ana Brum (Brazil).

Representatives from the Turkish Embassy in Lima attended the biennial’s opening ceremony, held on Dec. 6, at the Aeronautical Museum in Lima.

As part of the biennial, Türemen delivered a conference, sharing her experiences in cinema and art. The conference, held at the Aeronautical Museum, delved into her creative process and the stories behind her works. The artist’s insights into the international film industry, combined with Latin America’s growing interest in Turkish cinema and television, made the event particularly significant. Her contributions to the biennial extended beyond her exhibited works, offering a glimpse into her career. Türemen returned to Türkiye with the Peru Biennial award.

Türemen earned her undergraduate degree in International Relations at Istanbul University before pursuing postgraduate studies in Cinema-TV and Basic Art and Design at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University. In 2013, she received an award for her engraving work at the Florence Biennial. Three years later, while studying at the Salzburg Academy of Fine Arts, her work was included in the permanent collection of the Albertina Museum in Vienna. This marked her as the youngest and first Turkish female artist to join this esteemed collection, following Turkish art icons Burhan Doğançay and Sarkis.

In 2018, Türemen held a solo exhibition titled “Mitler” (Myths), inspired by Swedish director Ingmar Bergman. The exhibition was selected by the Ingmar Bergman Foundation to commemorate the director’s 100th birthday.

Türemen also made history in 2023 by becoming the first Turkish artist to have her work included in the Arctic World Archive. Her contributions, including a documentary and an engraving, were deposited in this heritage archive during a ceremony in the Arctic Ocean.

In 2024, Türemen's journey to Everest in the Himalayas region of Nepal was another important stage in both her personal and artistic practice. The artist continues her national and international projects in the fields of cinema, photography and engraving in Istanbul.