Dr. Lora Sariaslan is Assistant Professor of Modern and Contemporary Art and Coordinator of the Research Master's Program in Art HIstory. 

Her academic focus is on modern and contemporary transnational art practices, cultural and identity politics, mobility and migration, and mapping the urban. She specializes in modern and contemporary visual culture, curatorial practice, and museums with particular attention to the critical practices that shape and transform the collecting and presentation of art. 

Lora Sariaslan received her B.A. in Art History from Knox College (Illinois), her M.A. in Art History from the University of Texas at Austin, and her Ph.D. from the University of Amsterdam. Her doctoral dissertation, Pins on the Map: Urban Mappings in European-Turkish Contemporary Art, examined spatial practices and urban narratives in contemporary art.

Alongside her academic work, Sariaslan has an extensive curatorial career in international institutions. She was Assistant Curator at the Dallas Museum of Art, Texas (2001-2005) where she worked on exhibitions ranging from Henri Matisse to Salvador Dalí. She later worked as Curator at Istanbul Modern (2005-2011) where she focused on projects involving the Venice Biennale, and artists such as Hussein Chalayan, Ryan Trecartin, Fahrelnissa Zeid, and countless others. As an independent curator she has curated/ co-curated exhibitions internationally, among others: Life in the UK/ Balance of Probabilities as part of the 2nd Asia Triennial Manchester in the UK (2011), the 2nd Mardin Biennial: Double Take in Mardin, Turkey (2012), The Unknown Ara Güler, G-art Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey (2013), This yearning is ours! at the Center of Contemporary Art in Torun, Poland (2016), More and more thoughts about other thoughts: Driton Selmani, U10, Belgrade, Serbia, What We Forget at Nieuw Dakota, Amsterdam (2019), and Uncharted at Kunsthall 3,14 in Bergen, Norway (2023).

Her multidisciplinary practice encompasses exhibition-making, public programming, and publications, as well as research, writing, and lecturing. Prior to her current position, she taught at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Amsterdam. A member of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA), Sariaslan serves as the National Correspondent for the European Museum Forum (EMF) for Turkey.