Program Specialist, Public and Scholarly Engagement
SimaviZ@si.edu
202.633.0410
Zeynep earned her BA in English literature from Bogazici University in Istanbul. She has an MS in media and cultural studies from the Middle East Technical University in Ankara and an MA in art and museum studies from Georgetown University. Zeynep joined the Freer|Sackler in 2011 as a research assistant. She worked on various research projects related to Ottoman art, focusing on the artistic exchange between the Ottomans and the Safavids; contemporary art, especially that of Turkey and Iran; and the formation of Islamic art in the United States. Her research on the Mehmet Aga-Oglu papers in the Freer|Sackler Archives led to a publication. In 2012 Zeynep began to work in the Scholarly Programs and Publications Department. She coordinates the fellows program at the Freer|Sackler and scholarly events, and supports the publication of Ars Orientalis, a peer-reviewed journal. She is currently a PhD candidate in art history at the Istanbul Technical University, continuing her research on the historiography of Islamic art.