Esra Nesipoğulları (1991), born and raised in Turkey, is a multidisciplinary artist currently based in Mantua, Italy. Her works explore the intersections of language, identity,syntax, borders and spatial constructs through digital drawing, embroidery, and textile-based media. She focuses on the materiality of language, constructing alternative scripts, letterforms, alphabets and cartographies of no lands that exist outside national and cultural frameworks. With a background in architecture, she applies structural thinking to reimagine linguistic systems, challenging dominant narratives through abstraction.
She completed two residency programs in Toulouse and Marseille during her BA studies. In 2013, she conducted urban research in Cuba, deepening her engagement with spatial politics. After years working in architectural design offices across London, Istanbul, and continually Verona, she transitioned to artistic research and studio practice in 2020, while maintaining engagement in architectural office work. She has exhibited in France, the UK, the USA and Italy. She is also co-partner of a research think tank Al Mukhattab focuses on decolonial thinking and museum studies with Amal Muntaser.
Her practice moves through the intersection of linguistic structures and embodied making, translating digital gestures into tactile expressions of meaning.
Education
2026
Creative Synergies - Mentorship & Research Development Program, AAC Berlin, Germany
2017- 2020
MA in Architecture and History, Politecnico di Milano, Italy
2009-2015
BA in Architecture, Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Istanbul, Turkey
Exhibitions
2025
Printed Nostalgia Doha Fire Station - Gallery 4, Doha, Qatar
2025
Invisible Structures Monk Art Gallery, Izmir, Turkey
2023
QUT Tout Commence par une Interruption, Le Citizen Hotel, Paris, France
2022
1989: The Postcollapse in Art and Culture, Cerritos College Art Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
2020
Monaco Art Fair, Monaco
2020
In 24 Hours, The Wall Space Gallery, Scotland, UK
2020
In Isolation Together, Artcore Gallery, London, UK
2014
Des Européens rassemblés à Fontlongue , CYME Association Center, Miramas, France
Residencies / Research programs
Lectures / Presentations
2022
Reserach presentation: Spatial Organisations of Socialist Urbanism Corvetto NZSD Workshop - Viafarini Milano, Milan, Italy
2021
Research Presentation / Lecture: Museology as a Multidimensional Phenomenon (Co-lecturing with Amal Muntaser)
Practices of rupture: Toward a reparative justice - Archive Milano, Milan, Italy
2020
Makoko The Amphibian City, official entry to SEOUL Biennale ‘21, Seoul, Korea
(A collaborative to delve into acknowledging and constructing new urbanism with various architects, artists, and researchers)
2014
Research presentation: Spatial Organization of Public Squares, Cuban Socialism in Urban Context
Karaburun Science Congress, Izmir, Turkey
2012
UMÖB National Architecture Student Meeting 12.5, Mardin, Turkey
Co-mentoring a workshop with Defnegül Kayaoğlu exploring urban hegemony, public space, and human interaction through collaborative research and spatial analysis with architecture students.
Press Mentions
“Alphabets of Dislocated Memory.” Kahf Magazine, Issue II: Architecture and Belonging. Beirut, 2025. Link.
Mişar Art. “Yetişkinler İçin Genç Sanat” (Young Art for Adults), Young Artists Panel. February 2021. Link.
Puk Podcast. “On Art with Ekin Bozkurt”, Episode 6. May 16, 2021. Link.
Barbieri, Valeria. “Newspaper Feature.” Gazzetta di Mantova (Mantua, IT). August 10, 2020. Link.
Collections
Private collection, Berlin, Germany
Private collection, Izmir, Turkey
Private collection, Rouen, France
Private collection, Paris, France
Participations / Projects / Activities
2015 - present
Ongoing architectural design practice specialised in the educational built environment
2025
Workshop: I Come From Outside of Myself lead by Ludovica Carbotta
Scuola Piccola Zattere, Venice, Italy
The workshop explored speculative narratives around borders, identity, and universalism through film-ic writing and site-based research at the Giardini della Biennale.
2014
ERASMUS Project
CYME Association, Arles, France
Participated in a series of workshops and discussions on artistic and architectural practices, contributing to a final collective exhibition exploring the relationship between architecture, culture, and community.
2013
ERASMUS IP Project: By Passing Karaköy
Istanbul, Turkey
Participated in an interdisciplinary urban research workshop bringing together students and professionals from Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, ENSA Lyon, and Politecnico di Torino to explore alternative approaches to urban regeneration in Karaköy
2012
European Solidarity Corps of the EU Arts and Humanities Project
Toulouse, France
Contributed to the restoration of a chapel in Toulouse through hands-on woodworking and craft-based practices, engaging with the intersection of art, architecture, and heritage conservation.
2011
Mamak Housing Design Competition (2nd Mention) Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects Ankara, Turkey