Hale Ekinci: The Gün (aka Gold Day)

Hale Ekinci is a Chicago-based Turkish interdisciplinary artist and an Associate Professor of Art at North Central College, teaching a variety of courses in the Digital Art field. She spent childhood and much of her young adult years in Turkey, the homeland that she brings in and out of focus throughout her works. She completed her MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts and Media at Columbia College Chicago. Focusing on narrative and intercultural connections, her works vary from illustration and mixed media collage to video and installation. Her recent projects touch on social issues, cultural traditions, and political unrest. Despite the sometimes dismal nature of these controversial issues, her works are often playful as she uses vibrant colors, patterns, and hopeful moments.

Pinar Üner Yilmaz is a PhD candidate at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) in the Art History Department, where her area of concentration is contemporary art with a particular interest in cross-cultural curatorial studies and Istanbul Biennials. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Art Management in 2006 and Master’s degree in Art and Design in 2009 from Yildiz Technical University in Istanbul, Turkey. She previously worked at prominent institutions in Turkey, such as Eczacibasi Virtual Museum, Istanbul Museum of Modern Arts, and Platform Garanti Contemporary Art Center, and at UIC’s contemporary art gallery, Gallery 400, as the curatorial graduate assistant. Üner Yilmaz is a former recipient of Fulbright scholarship. 

Gözde Erdeniz is a native of Istanbul, Turkey. She came to the United States when she was 18 to attend Connecticut College, where she studied Government and English Literature. Currently, she is a Ph.D. candidate in Political Science at Northwestern University, writing her dissertation on the deep social divisions over the role of religion in public life in Turkey and Israel.

Filmfront is a cine-club located in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood. Selected programs draw from overlapping spheres of global, classic, documentary, experimental and local cinema. Situated at the core of a diverse community, our storefront venue invites a cross-cultural dialogue in the form of discussions, panels, lectures, and exhibitions in addition to our regular screenings.