Bio

Photographer Cigdem Yuksel (1989) started her photography career at Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant, focusing her lens mainly on migration, refugees and identity. In May 2016 she traveled to the Turkish city of Gaziantep with two reporters to make a harrowing portrait series of Syrian child refugees working in textile and shoe factories. Upon her return she was awarded the prestigious Zilveren Camera award. The jury praised the way her photo series confronts Western consumers with the consequences of our political and economic policies.  

She created the photo series A New Beginning as part of the transmedia project Shadow Game, which is now being exhibited all over the country and was also shown in Brussels, Antwerp, Brugge and in New York during the prestigious Photoville festival.

In the past few years her focus has shifted to perception and the power of the photographer. For that reason she started a study of our collective visual memory and the visual representation of Muslim women in the Netherlands. This has resulted in a much-discussed research report from 2020, in which she examined the representation of Muslim women in the image database of the Dutch press agency ANP. 

As a photographer Yuksel wants to change both the historical archive and the collective visual memory in the Netherlands. Who gets to decide which photos and stories will be included in our archive and which are left out? And why is that? In order to challenge this, she started portraying the first generation of Turkish women in the Netherlands to create a new visual archive.

Exhibitions

2023
24/06/2023 - 30/12/2023: Reflection on collection, Scheepvaartmuseum, Amsterdam

2022
16/09/2022 - 13/11/2022: A New Beginning, Viewmaster Projects, Maastricht
04/05/2022 - 01/07/2022: Schiedamse Families, Stedelijk Museum Schiedam
05/05/2022 - 05/05/2022: A New Beginning, Museumplein, Amsterdam
19/02/2022 - 06/03/2022: A New Beginning, JEF festival, Antwerpen
19/02/2022 - 06/03/2022: A New Beginning, JEF festival, Brugge

2021
01/11/2021 - 30/11/2021: A New Beginning, Floor HvA, Amsterdam
13/10/2021 - 01/01/2022: A New Beginning, Stopera, Amsterdam
08/10/2021 - 24/10/2021: Schiedams Water Grant expo, Kunstwerkt, Schiedam
18/09/2021 - 01/12/2021: A New Beginning, Photoville, New York
23/09/2021 - 03/10/2021: A New Beginning, Nederlands Film Festival, Utrecht
04/06/2021 - 25/06/2021: A New Beginning, Mercatorplein, Amsterdam
15/04/2021 - 06/05/2021: A New Beginning, Buitenhof, Den Haag

2020
06/03/2020 - 06/03/2020: Alzheimer Fluisteren, Zorginnovatie Forum, Zwolle
05/03/2020 - 05/03/2020: Alzheimer Fluisteren, Parc Theater, Hoorn
10/01/2020 - 09/04/2020: Dit is mijn Verhaal (Bijbels Museum), Academiehuis, Zwolle
01/01/2020 - 01/02/2020: Alzheimer Fluisteren, OBA Buitenveldert, Amsterdam
14/01/2020 - 14/03/2020: Alzheimer Fluisteren, De Brug, Amsterdam

2019
01/11/2019 - 30/11/2019: Alzheimer Fluisteren, OBA De Banne, Amsterdam
14/09/2019 - 21/09/2019: Alzheimer Fluisteren, Bibliotheek de Veluwe, Putten
11/09/2019 - 30/09/2019: Alzheimer Fluisteren, OBA Mercatorplein, Amsterdam
05/06/2019 - 05/06/2019: Alzheimer Fluisteren, Dementiecongres, Ede
28/05/2019 - 28/06/2019: Alzheimer Fluisteren, OBA Centraal, Amsterdam
08/04/2019 - 09/04/2019: Alzheimer Fluisteren, Zorggroep Groningen, Groningen
23/03/2019 - 08/04/2019: Alzheimer Fluisteren, ZGG Innersdijk, Groningen
21/03/2019 - 21/03/2019: Alzheimer Fluisteren, Nurcing Experience, Ede
15/03/2019 - 08/04/2019: ZGG Bloemenhof, Ten Boer
08/03/2019 - 08/04/2019: Alzheimer Fluisteren, Zorggroep Groningen, Veendam
27/02/2019 - 04/03/2019: Alzheimer Fluisteren, Noorderlicht, Groningen
09/02/2019 - 27/10/2019: Dit is mijn verhaal, Bijbels Museum, Amsterdam
05/02/2019 - 19/03/2019: Alzheimer Fluisteren, Kennemerhart, Haarlem

2018
21/09/2018 - 22/09/2018: Palestinian Minors, Festival van de journalistiek, Utrecht
21/09/2018 - 22/09/2018: Alzheimer Fluisteren, Foam, Amsterdam
02/02/2018 - 17/06/2018: Zondvloed nu, Bijbels Museum, Amsterdam
01/02/2018 - 01/02/2019: Alzheimer Fluisteren, Humanitas, Deventer

2017
26/10/2017 - 27/11/2017: Syrian child labor, Prinsenkwartier, Delft
01/09/2017 - 20/10/2017: Syrian child labor, De Hoofdwacht, Maastricht
12/09/2017 - 25/09/2017: Syrian child labor, Atrium Den Haag, Den Haag
08/07/2017 - 08/10/2017: Visible Faces, Post Oost, Amsterdam
01/07/2017 - 01/10/2017: Visible Faces, OBA Mercatorplein, Amsterdam
27/04/2017 - 28/05/2017: Syrian child labor, Heartgallery, Hengelo
31/04/2017 - 07/05/2017: Syrian child labor, Stevenskerk, Nijmegen
10/03/2017 - 12/03/2017: Niet Meer Zonder Jou, Ostade Amsterdam, Amsterdam
05/02/2017 - 12/03/2017: Syrian child labor, Museum Hilversum, Hilversum
13/01/2017 - 13/03/2017: Niet Meer Zonder Jou, OBA Javaplein, Amsterdam

2016
03/11/2016 - 08/01/2017: Niet Meer Zonder Jou, Verkadefabriek, Den Bosch
26/07/2016 - 07/08/2016: ZENNE, COC's Shakespeare Club, Amsterdam
02/06/2016 - 09/06/2016: Visible Faces, Stara Gradska Vijecnica, Croatia
01/05/2016 - 30/06/2016: Visible Faces, Huis van de Wijk Olympus, Amsterdam
28/04/2016 - 05/05/2016: Niet Meer Zonder Jou, WOW Amsterdam, Amsterdam
16/03/2016 - 20/03/2016: Niet Meer Zonder Jou, Theater Stut, Utrecht
12/03/2016 - 15/03/2016: Niet Meer Zonder Jou, De Put, Rotterdam
09/03/2016 - 11/03/2016: Niet Meer Zonder Jou, MFC Presikhaven, Arnhem
08/03/2016 - 08/03/2016: Niet Meer Zonder Jou, De Mussen, Den Haag
01/03/2016 - 06/03/2016: Niet Meer Zonder Jou, De Dommel, Eindhoven
18/02/2016 - 24/02/2016: Niet Meer Zonder Jou, Vrouw&Vaart, Amsterdam
07/12/2015 – 07/01/2016: ZENNE, De Balie, Amsterdam

2015
01/08/2015 - 01/12/2015: Visible Faces, Huis van de Wijk Osdorp, Amsterdam
03/06/2015 - 22/06/2015: Niet Meer Zonder Jou, public exhibition 50 tramstations Amsterdam
19/01/2015 - 20/03/2015: Visible Faces, De Honingraat, Amsterdam

2014
01/01/2014 - 30/10/2014: Visible Faces, Vrouw&Vaart, Amsterdam

2013
30/10/2013 - 30/12/2013: Visible Faces, OBA Slotervaart, Amsterdam
30/07/2013 - 20/10/2013: Visible Faces, IHLIA, Centrale Bibliotheek, Amsterdam
01/04/2013 - 28/07/2013: Visible Faces, OBA Osdorp, Amsterdam
12/02/2013 - 17/02/2013: Visible Faces, Podium Mozaiek, Amsterdam
20/12/2012 - 27/03/2013: Visible Faces, OBA Slotermeer, Amsterdam

Awards 

Dutch Directors Guild Award 2023 - winner
Meesterverteller 2021 - winner
Stipendium Schiedams Water 2021 - winner
Canon Zilveren Camera Award 2016 - winner
Dutch Photographic Portrait Prize 2016 - nomination