Notice Board

Art NOW speaker series presents: Derya Akay
Finger & Food & Flowers
12 pm | October 18, 2023
University Recital Hall
Free admission, everyone welcome

The speaker joins us virtually in the recital hall for this artist talk.

Derya Akay is a Southern Anatolian interdisciplinary artist and cook. They live, work & garden on the unceded lands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sk̲wx̲wú7mesh and səlí̓lwətaʔɬ nations since 2005. Derya plays with the tension between preservation and decay, control and chance, trial and error. Their process-based artistic strategies allow them to embrace the realities of time and transformation with the organic materials they work with. Akay poeticizes the act of cooking, using it as a metaphor for their studio-based practice. Derya enjoys dumpster diving, cooking for large groups of people; remembering dreams; hacking & pirating; nerding out on code; alley walks & weeds. They have recently completed their project “Estradiol Kitchen” where they’ve been cooking at Moodswing Bar in New West, BC. Derya’s recent collaborations and solo projects include, “The Willful Plot”, Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery, UBC (2023); “Queer Dowry”, Toronto Biennial of Art, Mississauga (2022); Looking at the Garden Fence (www.lookingatthegardenfence.com / 2021);  Meydan, Polygon Gallery, North Vancouver (2021) and The Neighbour’s Plate, Unit 17, Vancouver (2020).

Artist's website: deryaakay.com/

Images:

1. Derya Akay, Installation view of “Meydan” at Polygon Gallery, North Vancouver (2021). Photo by Rachel Topham Photography. Courtesy the artist and Unit 17, Vancouver.
2. Derya Akay. Foreground: Seyyar (eskici), 2021. Wood, bicycle parts, seasonal toppings. Background: Queer Dowry, 2022. Dimensions variable. On view at Small Arms Inspection Building as part of the Toronto Biennial of Art (2022). Photo: Toni Hafkenscheid. Commissioned by the Toronto Biennial of Art. Courtesy the artist and Unit 17, Vancouver.