Arzu Arda Kosar
Local Artist In Residence
18th Street Campus | 1653 18th Street #5, Santa Monica, CA 90404

Arzu Arda Kosar’s interest in borders, territories and social psychology has led her to examine urban space, street art, collaborative art making and community building art practices. She has marshalled numerous collaboratives including LA Gezi Platform, Yarn Bombing LA, MapConception, TransIstanbul, Public Art Istanbul, and International Survey of Alternative Artscene.

Kosar lead Yarn Bombing Los Angeles, bringing together 500 crafters from 50 states and 25 countries to crochet 12,000 granny squares to cover the façade of the Craft and Folk Art Museum in Los Angeles. The project questioned the boundaries between art and craft, and used scale and color to play with artistic, architectural and institutional identities.

Prompted by the civil disobedience movement that started at Gezi Park in Istanbul in May 2013, Kosar activated the Los Angeles Gezi Platform to promote an open-dialogue surrounding the protection of human rights and to support research and artistic production. Kosar is also a member of the MapConception, a collaborative duo that explores issues related to urban history and psychogeography.

Kosar received her BA in Studio Art and Art History from the University of Pittsburgh, and an MFA in New Genres from the University of Southern California.

Artist Website