Meet the Team: Yonca Keremoğlu, Marketing and Business Development Officer

Can you tell us a little about your background?

Hello, my name is Yonca Keremoğlu. I run Artist Relations, Marketing and Business Development activities along with the other members of the Sedition front office team.

I was born in Ankara, Turkey and spent most of my life living in Istanbul — studying and working. I’ve always been interested in art & architecture thanks to my mum and dad who used to take me to many art exhibitions and museums when I was little.

Initially, I moved to London to study for my master’s degree in Curating and Art Criticism at Central Saint Martins in 2015. While at college, I started and developed my professional life by working at art galleries, art fairs, and art newspapers which over time provided me with a wide range of skills in arts management. I curated my working life based on my experiences which mostly included taking part in editorial & curatorial projects and working in arts management.

I love working with artists, designers, writers, and all types of creatives. My passion for arts and for working with creatives lies at the heart of everything I’ve participated in. In my free time, I conduct interviews with artists & creatives and promote their creative artistic practices on the website that I started at the beginning of the pandemic.

Can you tell us when and why you joined Sedition?

I started working at Sedition last October. At the time I applied to Sedition, I had just finished working at Photo London and was looking for other jobs in the arts.

At first glance, I thought of Sedition as a very beneficial platform for digital artists, and specifically found its Art Stream service to be an innovative model that I hadn’t seen before in the arts market. Digital art used to stay in the background in the art world, so I found the idea of streaming digital art as we stream music or tv shows to be a great one.

The fact that it provided both a curated platform, as well as an Open Platform that provided a space for all artists to submit and showcase their work, was another feature that drew me to this position.

While viewing the platform and how it works, I’ve gone through a process of exploration and found out about artists and artworks that I hadn’t previously known before. I found this aspect of the site to be very important, giving audiences a chance to explore and make their own discoveries.

I also enjoy conducting interviews with artists, creating dialogues in different formats so being able to do that for Sedition was another factor that made me apply for the role.

What is your current role and how would you describe your work?

As a Marketing and Business Development Officer, I am a part of Sedition’s front office team. I quite like the fact that my role has various tasks and entails communication with people all over the world, which always keeps me interested in what I do. I would describe my work as diverse, containing a nice balance of administrative and creative work.

Every week, we launch new artworks and collections of the existing and new artists. Before the launch, we discuss many aspects with our artists including their practice, works, the conceptual framework of the collections, and sometimes conduct interviews with them for publication in either written or video format. We look for different ways to best present the practice of the artists and communicate them to a wider audience.

I also manage our Instagram account and Facebook page, and answer queries from our users, collectors or anyone who is interested in Sedition.

Sometimes I curate special collections that I share with our audience or announce monthly art news mostly based on the projects and exhibitions of the artists on Sedition.

One of the things I have enjoyed most is creating curated collections for our Public Display partners or clients. Every project has a different setting and a theme. Identifying the needs of the people we’re in dialogue with, and picking different selections is something I really enjoy.

I also appreciate the opportunity to search for new artists and invite them to the platform. Sharing the ones we identify with authentic, creative profiles always adds value to our platform.

What is the most exciting thing that you’re working on right now?

I work on different projects simultaneously and there are many of them that excite me. Working with artists, searching for new artists, and inviting new artists to the platform is something that I’m always interested in.

I’m very excited about the launches of new artists such as the upcoming launches of Anthony James, the London-based art & technology studio Above & Below studio (Daria Jelonek and Perry-James Sugden), and Brendi Wedinger.

One of the exciting projects is the upcoming release of Can Büyükberber’s new digital pieces that are planned to be launched on Sedition this October. For this project, we’re collaborating with Can Büyükberber and a Literary Art Foundation. They are undertaking a special project with the exquisite high artistry of Montblanc pens, curating a new collection. Can’s new digital art pieces, which are designed specifically for this project, are inspired by the books of great writers in history. The project itself is valuable in terms of honouring the artists and authors from history, while also shining a spotlight on leading contemporary digital artists such as Can.

I’m also looking forward to Francesca Fini’s upcoming launch in September. Currently, she has a residency at Rocca Sinibalda Castle, and she will launch a new collection that she has created as a part of the digital project at the castle. All works have a sci-fi theme, which I love!

What do you like most about your job?

Working with all the creative talents provides a good dose of inspiration for me. Every artist is a different world that needs to be paid attention to and their works are open to different understandings or interpretations, textually or visually. It’s a great joy to be the mediator for that and to work for a company that aims to nurture this relationship in the digital arts, with the artists and the audience.

I like the fact that my job requires me to conduct interviews with the artists. So far, it has been a great pleasure to have interviewed artists such as NONOTAK, Nikolas Feldmeyer, Can Büyükberber, Graham Fudger and Luigi Honorat.

I love curating playlists or selections for our Public Display licenses which provide public and semi-public displays of artworks on Sedition to various clients from gallery spaces to hotels, offices, or special events.

I like making playlists for Art Stream as I believe that Art Stream allows the audience to embrace art as a part of everyday life. Being displayed usually at galleries, museums and fairs, art is sometimes perceived solely as a luxury product. I think a subscription system is a great innovation that allows people to explore new art and bring it to our daily lives — to be streamed anywhere, whether in a morning commute or at home, as we read books or listen to music. There are many different genres in the collection and one can explore all branches of digital art, from AI to generative art or audio-visual performances.