In this interview for STATUS/الوضع, host Julie Hakim Azzam speaks with Ozge Samanci about her difficult journey to actualize her dream to be an artist in her debut graphic novel, Dare to Disappoint: Growing up in Turkey.
Ozge Samanci is author of the debut graphic novel, Dare to Disappoint: Growing up in Turkey (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2015) and Assistant Professor in the Radio/Television/ Film department at Northwestern University`s School of Communications. She has an extensive background in comics and media arts and is a published comics artist. Her interactive-digital media installations and other collaborative works have been exhibited in numerous venues internationally including SIGGRAPH, ISEA, Advances in Computer Entertainment (ACE), Tangible and Embedded Interaction (TEI), Tech Museum at San Jose, WRO Media Art Biennial, Athens International Festival of Digital Arts and New Media, Eyedrum Gallery, Evanston Art Center. Her analog installations and images have been exhibited at University of California Botanical Gardens, Art House Coop, Sycamore Place Gallery, Gallery KG52 in Stockholm, Armory Center for Arts, Worth Ryder Art Gallery and Arcade Gallery. Her areas of interest include interactive art, interactive narrative, interaction design, full-body interaction, comics and graphic novels, digital-interactive media theory, and location-based art. She authored the book Animasyonun Onlenemez Yukselisi (The Irresistible Rise of Animation), published by Istanbul Bilgi University Publications.