Walking & Talking with Lawrence Rinder
Bige Örer, Lawrence Rinder • 9/15/25
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Walking & Talking, hosted by Istanbul- and London-based curator and researcher Bige Örer, is a series of video-recorded conversational experiences based on walking with each guest curator in the same location or in two different places in the world. Some of these conversations address broad societal, cultural, or philosophical questions, while others may unfold more intimate concerns and flow with inner journeys. The walks are imagined as poems- collaborative verses composed along a shared path.
In this episode, recorded on February 27, 2025, Örer speaks with curator Lawrence Rinder. Their exchange weaves through reflections on working across different geographies and institutional contexts, the complexities and freedoms of curating independently versus within institutions, and their shared passions for art, poetry, walking, and animals.
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Lawrence Rinder is Director Emeritus of the UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive. He has organized exhibitions at the Walker Art Center, the Drawing Center, the Fabric Workshop, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Berkeley Art Museum and Film Archive, among many other venues. He is currently on the boards of Kadist and the Wangduechhoeling Palace and Museum in Bumthang, Bhutan. He lives in Eymoutiers, France.
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Bige Örer is an Istanbul- and London-based independent curator and writer dedicated to amplifying the voices and visions of artists. Her curatorial practice is rooted in centering creativity and artistic perspectives, ensuring that artists remain at the heart of every exhibition and project she oversees. From 2008 to 2024, Örer served as the director of the Istanbul Biennial, where she transformed the biennial into a dynamic platform for artistic collaboration and intellectual exchange. She was instrumental in developing programs that broadened the biennial’s reach, particularly focusing on children and youth, while fostering artistic engagement throughout Turkey and internationally. In 2022, Örer curated Once upon a time…, the Füsun Onur exhibition at the Pavilion of Turkey for the 59th Venice Biennale. Her curatorial projects also include Flâneuses (Institut français Istanbul, 2017), an ongoing series involving walks with artists. Örer played a key role in establishing the Istanbul Biennial Production and Research Program, the SaDe Artist Support Fund, and coordinated initiatives such as the Cité des Arts Turkey Workshop Artist Residency Program and the Turkish Pavilion at the International Art and Architecture Exhibitions of the Venice Biennale. Örer has contributed articles to numerous publications and taught at Istanbul Bilgi University. She has also served as a consultant and jury member for various international art institutions, and from 2013 to 2024, she was the vice president of the International Biennial Association. During this time, she also contributed to the editorial and programming board of the association’s journal, PASS. She is a member of the Curatorial Studies Workshop, part of the Expanded Artistic Research Network (EARN).
