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Internationally renowned Turkish curator Fulya Erdemci joins New Zealand's Danae Mossman to form the curatorial partnership for Art & Industry's fifth SCAPE 2008 Christchurch Biennial of Art in Public Space.

The Art & Industry Biennial Trust are delighted to announce the pairing of Fulya Erdemci and Danae Mossman. Fulya Erdemci brings a wealth of international experience to this position and, as Director of the International Istanbul Biennial for seven years (she directed the fourth, fifth, sixth and partly seventh Biennials) as well as curator of Istanbul Pedestrian Exhibitions (Istanbul Yaya Sergileri) – the first exhibition designed for pedestrians in public space in Turkey – she has an impressive background in art in public space.

Local curator Danae Mossman, whose presence at Christchurch project space The Physic's Room has been hugely influential, comes to SCAPE as one of New Zealand's most promising curators. As well as two international curatorial residencies (Gertrude Contemporary Art Spaces, Melbourne and DAAD, Berlin) Danae recently co-curated TRANS VERSA, (Museo de Arte Contemporáneo / Matucana 100 / Galeria Metropolitana) in Santiago, Chile.

Like the previous biennial, SCAPE 2008 will be developed with Christchurch's major cultural stakeholders and located within the central city. The Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū is SCAPE's key venue partner and, as well as featuring the Indoor Exhibition and hub, will be an important venue for symposia, discussion and lectures.

SCAPE 2008 is the fifth biennial and 10-year anniversary of the Art & Industry Biennial Trust. Running for six weeks from 19 September – 2 November 2008, the programme will include site-specific interventions by artists from around the world, proposing 'a new culture of space' for the city. As well as visiting artists, SCAPE 2008 will attract speakers, arts professionals, and new audiences to Christchurch, stimulating and questioning the way we experience and enjoy the public space.

Born in 1962 in Eskisehir, Turkey, Fulya Erdemci lives and works in Istanbul. From 1994–2000 she was Director of the International Istanbul Biennial, and collaborated closely with international curators Rene Block, Rosa Martinez, Paolo Colombo and Yuko Hasegawa. Previous curated exhibitions include Iskorpit 1998, Berlin; Aller Retour, III.Cetinjski Biennale, 1997, Montenegro and Biennial of the Young Artists of Europe and Mediterranean, 1997, Torino. In 2003 Fulya was appointed Director of Proje4L-Istanbul Museum of Contemporary Art. Around this time she also initiated the Istanbul Pedestrian Exhibitions (Istanbul Yaya Sergileri) 2002 and 2005, co-curated Where?/Here?, Saitama, 2003 and was involved in the Istanbul section of the 25th São Paulo Biennial. In 2004 she became Temporary Exhibitions Curator at Istanbul Modern and was part of the curatorial team for the Second Moscow Biennial of Contemporary Art, 2007. She is also working as a freelance curator for the inauguration exhibition of SantralIstanbul, a cultural complex initiated by the Istanbul Bilgi University.

From 2002–4 Danae Mossman was Gallery Assistant and Education Facilitator at the Adam Art Gallery, Wellington. While living there she founded the SHIFT Trust, a charitable organisation orientated toward the development of short-term exhibitions in vacant sites around the city. She curated The Ouse Project in local co-opted office spaces and House Work, Blue Oyster Gallery, Dunedin. In 2005 Danae was resident at Gertrude Contemporary Art Spaces on the International Visiting Curator Programme. The following year she was co-hosted by DAAD International Residency Programme and Goethe-Institut, spending a month in Berlin. Also that year she co-curated TRANS VERSA, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo / Matucana 100 / Galeria Metropolitana, Santiago, Chile and Single Currency, VCA Gallery, University of Melbourne, Australia, an exhibition included as part of the Festival Melbourne 2006. In August 2007 Danae stepped down as director/curator of The Physics Room, Christchurch. During her three years there she was responsible for presenting more than thirty exhibitions, developing an artist residency programme, producing numerous publications, events and performances, and curating breathing space, 2005.