Kerim Safa
Kerim Safa
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Bio
Bio
Kerim Safa is a Turkish artist and musician based in the Netherlands, working across digital animation, audiovisual installation, and live performance. He often combines hand-drawn pixel techniques with algorithmic systems to examine the relationship between human intuition and computational logic. Informed by early computer graphics and video games, he employs low resolutions, limited palettes, and simple rulesets to explore how constrained systems can shape a visual language. Musical tools and compositional methods also play a central role in his practice, informing the rhythm, structure, and articulation of his visual work.
Safa’s work has been presented internationally at venues such as ZKM Karlsruhe, Valencia’s City of Arts and Sciences, Gashouder Westergasfabriek Amsterdam, and the Istanbul Archaeological Museum, as well as at numerous galleries and festivals worldwide. He collaborates with artists, musicians, and developers on projects involving generative systems, music-driven visuals, and spatial installations, and continues to compose and perform music alongside his visual practice.
Selected Exhibitions
Selected Exhibitions
2025: 'Lost Machine Manual', Schlachter 151, Berlin, Germany ⧉
2025: 'New Retinas', ARTLAB Siroco, Madrid, Spain ⧉
2025: 'Pool'(w/Maureen Jonker & Michel van Collenburg), Expo Bart, Nijmegen, Netherlands ⧉
2025: ‘nullMachines’, ABS Digital Art Exhibition, Palácio de Tancos, Lisbon, Portugal ⧉
2025: ‘floors&ceilings’(w/Loïc Schwaller), Noise Media Art Festival, Istanbul, Turkey ⧉
2025: ‘ARCHITYPES’(w/Kristen Roos) , objkt.one, Online ⧉
2025: ‘RGB MTL’ , Private Exhibition Space, Montreal, Canada ⧉
2025: ‘Liquid Memory: MS8507’, 2. Mediterranean Biennial, Mersin, Turkey ⧉
2025: 'Nur Now', Kazan, Tatarstan ⧉
2024: 'VISTA'(w/Loïc Schwaller), Nguyen Wahed Gallery, New York ⧉
2024: 'Spectra', Lume Studios, New York, United States ⧉
2024: 'Ribela Festival', Sarria, Spain ⧉
2024: 'Omotesando Interactivité', Gallery Lapin et Halot, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan ⧉
2024: 'Nur Now', Kazan, Tatarstan ⧉
2024: 'The Collab Room II'(w/Spøgelsesmaskinen), Here&Now, Online ⧉
2024: 'RGB MTL’, Private Exhibition Space, Montreal, Canada ⧉
2023: 'New Society Book Launch', NFT Factory, Paris, France ⧉
2023: 'TEZ ART MTL', Private Exhibition Space, Montreal, Canada ⧉
2023: 'NFT Show Europe', City Of Arts And Sciences, Valencia, Spain ⧉
2023: 'Éclairage Public #7', Le 109, Nice, France ⧉
2023: 'Refraction', Black Box, Denver, Colorado, United States ⧉
2022: 'Ancient Futures', Istanbul Archeology Museum, Istanbul, Turkey ⧉
2022: 'Bits & Beams'(w/Roel Weerdenburg), Grounded Festival, Utrecht, Netherlands ⧉
2022: 'NFT Show Europe', City Of Arts And Sciences, Valencia, Spain ⧉
2022: 'NFT.İST: ÖTE', CoBAC, Istanbul, Turkey ⧉
2022: 'Dream Launch', NFT Playground, Amsterdam, Netherlands ⧉
2022: 'The Collab Room'(w/Kristen Roos), Here&Now, Online ⧉
2021: 'What Hot Sh!t', Galerie Greulich, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany ⧉
2021: 'Tunnelvision', Grounded Festival, Fort bij't Hemeltje, Utrecht, Netherlands ⧉
2021: 'Get Minimal', Zardoz Club, Online ⧉
2021: 'Engage', Re-nd-er-ed, Online ⧉
2021: 'Crystal World VR', Escape010101, Online ⧉
2015: 'Ses Duvarı/Sound Wall', Karga, Istanbul, Turkey ⧉
2010: 'Rebodying'(w/Armando Menicacci&Bodig Collective), Santralistanbul, Turkey ⧉
Public Art/Screenings
Public Art/Screenings
2025: 'Loominance’(in collaboration w/Schemerlicht), Kunstnacht, Nijmegen, Netherlands ⧉
2025: 'Bok’(w/Kristen Roos), Punto y Raya, Sofia, Bulgaria ⧉
2025: ‘DEMO Festival’ , Amsterdam—Utrecht— Rotterdam, Netherlands ⧉
2025: ‘Monolithic Machines’(in collaboration w/LACMA&DEMO), Los Angeles ⧉
2025: ‘Uitnacht’, Eusebiuskerk, Arnhem, Netherlands ⧉
2024: 'Floyd Bennettt Field! Festival’(w/Peter Burr), New York ⧉
2024: 'Kinomural', Wrocław, Poland ⧉
2024: 'Neo Shibuya's 30 Seconds Museum', Miyashita Park, Tokyo, Japan ⧉
2024: 'VideoListening', Nagaoka Institute of Design, Nagaoka, Japan ⧉
2024: 'C3 Festival', Amsterdam, Netherlands ⧉
2024: 'Non-Fungible Conference', Lisbon, Portugal ⧉
2024: 'Film My Design', Cairo, Egypt ⧉
2024: 'Nur Festival’, Kazan, Tatarstan ⧉
2023: 'Hyperconnection', School of Digital Arts, Manchester, United Kingdom ⧉
2023: 'Bideotikan', Bilbao, Spain ⧉
2023: 'MET AMS', Gashouder Westergasfabriek, Amsterdam, Netherlands ⧉
2022: ‘DEMO Festival’ , Amsterdam—Utrecht— Rotterdam, Netherlands ⧉
2021: 'Rotterdam Verlicht', AHOY, Rotterdam, Netherlands ⧉
2020: 'HIJS Lights', Afrikaanderwijk, Rotterdam, Netherlands ⧉
2017: 'Melbourne International Animation Festival', Melbourne, Australia ⧉
2017: 'New Zealand International Film Festival', Auckland, New Zealand ⧉
2016: 'Punto y Raya Festival', ZKM, Karlsruhe, Germany ⧉
Press
Press
2025: ‘Architypes: In Conversation with Kristen Roos and Kika Nicolela’, objkt.one ⧉
2024: 'The Art of Doing Nothing', Conversation with Loïc Schwaller and Mimi Nguyen, Verse ⧉
2024: 'Choose the Next Artist for MoMI', Museum of the Moving Image, New York ⧉
2024: 'nullMachines', Creative Applications ⧉
2023: 'New Society', New Society Media, Paris ⧉
2023: 'Monolithic Machines: In Conversation with Mimi Nguyen, verse ⧉
2022: 'Retro loops: Exploring the seamless pixel animations of digital artist Kerim Safa', STIR ⧉
2022: 'Artist Q&A', The Tickle, ⧉
2022: 'Diyalog', Mercado, ⧉
2021: 'Q&A with “Digital Waste” Artist Kerim Safa', UC Berkeley CLTC ⧉
2021: 'Interview', GatherArt ⧉
Talks & Workshops
Talks & Workshops
2023: ‘Exploring the Roots of Screen-based Arts’ - City of Arts and Sciences, Valencia, Spain ⧉
2022: ‘Sustainable NFT’ - Sónar Festival, Istanbul, Turkey ⧉
2022: ‘Artist Talk’ - NFT Playground, Amsterdam, Netherlands ⧉
2022: ‘Artist Talk’ - NFT.İST: ÖTE, CoBAC, Istanbul, Turkey ⧉
2013: ‘Video Games as Interactive Art’ - Plato College of Higher Education, Istanbul, Turkey ⧉
Selected Live Performances
Selected Live Performances
2025: 'Outpost #1', Live AV w/Dead Symbols&nobuka, De Basis, Nijmegen, Netherlands ⧉
2021: 'Andermaal', Live set w/Dirge Seçil Kuran, Tivolivredenburg, Utrecht, Netherlands ⧉
2021: 'Culture Shock', Live set w/Satyakam Mohkamsing, De Voorkamer, Utrecht,Netherlands ⧉
2019: 'Hyena Noise Festival', Live electronics, Villa K, The Hague, Netherlands ⧉
2010: 'Druskomanija', Live electronics, Menų spaustuvė, Vilnius, Lithuania ⧉
2010: Site-specific electronic set, Santralistanbul Energy Museum, Istanbul, Turkey ⧉
2010: 'ISCMS', Site-specific electronic set, Eminonu Bridge, Istanbul, Turkey ⧉
2010: 'New Music/Yeni Muzik 5’, Live electronics, alt., Istanbul, Turkey ⧉
2010: 'Journey of Sound/Sesin Yolculugu 4’, Live electronics, ITU MIAM, Istanbul, Turkey ⧉
2010: 'IBULOrk, Live electronics, Tamirane, Istanbul, Turkey ⧉
2010: 'IBULOrk', Live electronics, Peyote, Istanbul, Turkey ⧉
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