Özge Samanci, a media artist and graphic novelist, is an associate professor at Northwestern University’s School of Communication. Her interactive installations have been exhibited internationally at venues such as Museu do Amanhã, Siggraph Art Gallery, FILE Festival, Currents New Media, The Tech Museum of Innovation, WRO Media Art Biennial, Athens International Festival of Digital Arts and New Media, Piksel Electronic Arts Festival, and ISEA.
Her graphic memoir, Dare to Disappoint (Farrar Straus Giroux, 2015) has been translated into six languages. Her second graphic novel, Evil Eyes Sea (Uncivilized Books, 2024), was named one of The Guardian’s best graphic novels of 2024 and won the 2025 Cartoonist Studio Prize. It is slated for translation into French and German. Her drawings have appeared in The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, and Slate Magazine.
Samanci has received several awards, including the Berlin Prize in 2017, when she was also the Holtzbrinck Visual Arts Fellow at the American Academy in Berlin. She was honored with the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts Distinguished Alumni Award (2020) from the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Artist Fellowship Award in Media Arts (2023) from the Illinois Arts Council.
CURRENTLY
Northwestern University, Associate Professor
Radio / TV / Film Department, August 2011 - present
POSTDOC
University of California, Berkeley, Andrew Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow
Art Practice Department, 2009 -2011
EDUCATION
Georgia Institute of Technology, Ph.D.
Digital Media, School of Literature Communication and Culture, 2005 - 2009
Ohio University, MA
School of Communication Studies, 2003 - 2005
Istanbul Bilgi University, MA
Film and Television Department, 1999 - 2001
Bogazici University, BA
Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Mathematics Department, 1992 - 1999
EXHIBITIONS
2024, 24-26 September, Ibrida Festival delle Arti Intermediali- Forlì, Italy
2023, 19 Sept – 30 Oct NOVA-Supercreativity: The New Aesthetics of a Technologically Modified World, Museu do Amanhã,
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2023, 27-29 October, Electronic Fields, Llerena, Fuente Del Arco, Reina (Badajoz), Spain
2023, 4 July - 27 August, Electronic Language International Festival FILE, Sao Paulo, Brazil
2022, 17-20 November, Piksel New Media Festival, Bergen Norway
2022, 8-11 August, SIGGRAPH Art Gallery, Vancouver
2022, 10-16 June, 27th International Symposium on Electronic Arts ISEA, Barcelona, Spain
2022, 8-9 April, Forecast Platform, RadialSystem, Berlin, Germany
2021-2022, Oct 15-Feb 13, Van Gogh For All, Juliet Art Museum, Charleston
2021, August 15- September 26, Van Gogh For All, Magnificient Mile, Chicago
2019, July 20- October 14, Van Gogh For All, Michele and Donald D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts, Springfield
2019 March 10- June 27, Van Gogh For All, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
2019-2018, December 17- January 14, Van Gogh For All, Water Tower Place, Chicago
2019, 21-23 November, Piksel Festival for Electronic Arts, Bergen Norway
2019, 28 July- 1 August, SIGGRAPH Art Gallery, Los Angeles
2019, 25 June ACM Creativity and Cognition Art Exhibition “Ecologies of Transformation”, the University of California San Diego
2019, 31 March "Sense of a Future Ocean" at SBCAST at Santa Barbara
2019, April, Graphic Worlds, in the Making, The Fact Finder Gallery, Berlin, Germany
2018, 29-30 December Plexus Projects, Art Gallery, New York.
2018, 11 Dec – 1 Feb, Work in Progress Group Exhibition, Ann Arbor Art Center
2018, 8-9 September, BrainMind Summit, Digital Consciousness Exhibit, Stanford University
2018, 8 September- 4 November, Wir Verrecken vor Lachen!, Kunstraum Kreuzberg / Bethanien, Berlin, Germany
2018, 12-16 August SIGGRAPH Art Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
2018, 3 July to 12 August, Electronic Language International Festival FILE, SESI Gallery, Sao Paulo, Brazil
2018 June 8-24, Currents New Media, Santa Fe
2017, 2-6 October, Sustain and Decay, The IEEE VIS 2017 Arts Program VISAP, Phoenix, Arizona
2016, 28 September – 16 October, Mindscapes, Hall Arts Gallery, Istanbul
2016, June 11-12, CAKE, Chicago Alternative Comics Expo, CAKE, Chicago
2015 August 14-19, 21st International Symposium on Electronic Arts ISEA, Vancouver, Canada
2015, June 15-August 16, Electronic Language International Festival FILE, SESI Gallery, in Sao Paulo, Brazil
2014, November 11-14, Advances in Computer Entertainment ACE, Madeira, Portugal
2013 November 12-15, International Conference on Interactive Digital Storytelling ICIDS’13, Istanbul, Turkey
2013 November 12-15, Creative Showcases, Advances in Computer Entertainment ACE’13, Twente, Netherlands
2013, June 13-23 , 19th International Symposium on Electronic Arts ISEA, Sydney, Australia
2013, June 7-9, Athens International Video Arts and New Media Festival ADAF, Athens, Greece
2013, May 9-18, WRO Media Arts Biennial, Galeria Entropia, Biennale WRO, Wroclaw, Poland
2012, November 1-January 11, Word 6: An Architecture of Multimodal Poetry/Text, The Arcade Gallery, Chicago
2012, August 8-11, University Film and Video Association New Media Exhibition UFVA, Chicago
2012, February 19-April 15, Crossing Wires: Technology and Play, Evanston Art Center, Evanston
2011, November 15, Hands-On Emerging Technology, Pixel Wall, The Tech Museum of Innovation, San Jose.
2010, November 3-13, 2010 Art Practice Faculty Show, Worth Ryder Art Gallery, Berkeley
2010, June 21- November 30, Planting Comics, UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley, Berkeley
2010, June 27 – August 22, International Mail Art Exhibition, Armory Center for Arts, Pasadena
2010, August, Mail Art Exhibition, Gallery KG52, Stockholm, Sweden
2009, 24 June - 3 July, Ordinary Things Solo Exhibition, Sycamore Place Gallery, Atlanta
2009, May 2nd, Collaborations Atlanta, Blue Tower Art Gallery, Atlanta
2008, March 3-17, Ordinary Things Solo Exhibition, Art House Coop, Atlanta
2007, April 6th, Listening Machines Show, Eyedrum Art Gallery, Atlanta
PUBLICATIONS
BOOKS
2024, Evil Eyes Sea (graphic novel), Uncivilized Books.
2015, Dare to Disappoint (Autobiographical Graphic Novel), Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Translated to Dutch, Korean, Italian, Turkish, and Persian.
2004, Animasyonun Onlenemez Yukselisi (The Irresistible Rise of Animation), Istanbul Bilgi University Publications, Istanbul
BOOK CHAPTER
2022, Rejected Passport Photos, In IGNITE: A Justice-Forward Approach to Decolonizing Higher Education through Space, Place, and Culture. Writing and images, Vernon Press
2015, Earthquakes in Film: Exploring Visual Strategies, In Film on the Faultline, Edited by Alan Wright, Intellect and The University of Chicago Press.
JOURNAL ARTICLES
2022, Ozge Samanci, Jennifer Hutson, Jonathan David, Wren Gottschalk, Jack Burkhardt, Rachel Kantor, Stephan Moore, and Liza Salvi. VastWaste. In ACM SIGGRAPH 2022 Art Gallery (SIGGRAPH '22). Association for Computing Machinery.
2019, Ozge Samanci, Adam Snyder, Gabriel Caniglia, Fiber Optic Ocean, SIGGRAPH '19 Art Papers in Special Issue of Leonardo, MIT Press.
2018, Ozge Samanci, Gabriel Caniglia, You are the Ocean, SIGGRAPH '18 Art Papers in Special Issue of Leonardo, Volume 51, Issue 4, MIT Press.
2018 Ozge Samanci, Adam Snyder, Fiber Optic Ocean, Merging Media for Data Representation, VISAP 16-17 Special Issue, Leonardo Journal, MIT Press.
2015, Fast Forwarding through Turkey's Last Ten Years with Ordinary Things, Journal of the Ottoman and Turkish Studies Association 2.2 (2015): 307-334.
2014, Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, Sage Journals, Volume 20 Issue 1, February 2014 Embodied Site-Specific Animation
2010, The Journal of International Digital Media and Art Association, volume 7, no:1 From Site-specific Comics to Location-based Comics: Ordinary Things, Planting Comics, and GPS Comics
2006, Fall Issue, International Journal of Comic Art, Lynda Barry's Humor: At the Juncture of Private and Public, Invitation and Dissemination, Childish and Professional
PEER REVIEWED CONFERENCE PAPERS
--Published by Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Press and IEEE Xplore--
2019, Ozge Samanci and Gabriel Caniglia, You are the Ocean: Interactive Installation, C&C '19 Proceedings of the 2019 on Creativity and Cognition pp. 414-421
2017, Ozge Samanci, Adam Snyder, Fiber Optic Ocean: Merging Media for Data Representation, IEEE VIS, VISAP 2017, IEEE Xplore
2014, Ozge Samanci, Blacki Li Rudi Migliozzi, Daniel Sabio, Plink Blink: Collaborative Music Production via Blinking Eyes, In Proc. Advances in Computer Entertainment (ACE’14), ACM Press.
2014, Ozge Samanci, Impact of Digital Media on Comics. In Proc. SIGGRAPH'14 Studio, ACM Press
2012, Ozge Samanci, Anuj Tewari. Expanding the Comics Canvas: GPS Comics. In Proc. Fun and Games Conference, In Proc. Fun and Games (FnG’13), ACM Press, 27-34.
2010, Ozge Samanci and Anuj Tewari, GPS Comics: Seeing thru Walls. In Proc. SIGGRAPH’10 Posters (single page publication), ACM Press.
2008, Aimee Rydarowski, Ozge Samanci, and Ali Mazalek, Murmur: Kinetic Relief Sculpture, Multi-Sensory Display, Listening Machine. In Proc. Tangible and Embedded Interaction (TEI’08), ACM Press, 231-238.
2007, Ozge Samanci, Yanfeng Chen, and Ali Mazalek, Tangible Comics: A Performance Space with Full-body Interaction, In Proc. Advances in Computer Entertainment (ACE’07), ACM Press, 171-178.
BOOK/FILM REVIEW
2015, Fall, JAST, Journal of American Studies in Turkey- Film review for “Real Women Have Curves” ISSUE 42. p. 308-309.
2014, JAST, Journal of American Studies in Turkey issue 40- Film review for “In Your Eyes” pp.186-188.
2014, Journal of Film and Video Vol. 66, No. 3 (Fall 2014), pp. 57-59, Book review for “That’s All Folks? Ecocritical Readings of American Animated Features”
2013, JAST, Journal of American Studies in Turkey- "Remembering Gore Vidal", No 35-36, Book Review for "Women and Turkish Cinema: Gender Politics, Cultural Identity and Representation"
OP-ED PIECES
2016, 8 March, Ozge Samanci, The Huffington Post, How I Became an Artist: Tips for Changing Careers
2016, 31 January, Ozge Samanci, The Daily Beast, Being an Immigrant Is Now Even Harder
2015, 16 November, Boing Boing, At Least Turkey's Tragic Politics Gives Material to Comics Artistshttp://boingboing.net/2015/11/16/at-least-turkeys-tragic-poli.html
ILLUSTRATIONS
2023, 2021 Cartoons for The New Yorker
2023-2018, Cartoons for Pepper and Salt section, The Wall Street Journal
2017, guest-edited by Françoise Mouly, art editor of The New Yorker, and writer Nadja Spiegelman, Resist
2016, January Issue, Logo Design and illustrations for Slate Book Review
2016 February 15, Illustration for Guernica Magazine
AWARDS
2023, Illinois Arts Council Agency (IACA), the Artist Fellowship Award, Media Arts
2022, Finalist for Wolinski Prize with Dare to Disappoint
2020, The Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts Distinguished Alumni Award, Georgia Institute of Technology
2017, Berlin Prize, American Academy in Berlin
2016, Dare to Disappoint, Middle East Book Award
2016, Dare to Disappoint, 30th Annual New York Book Show.
2015, Clarence Simon Award for Teaching and Mentoring
2015, Fall, Dare to Disappoint was awarded the designation of “A Junior Library Guild Selection.”
FELLOWSHIPS / RESIDENCIES
2023-2024, Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs Faculty Fellow
2021, Alice Kaplan Institute for Humanities, Faculty Fellow for 21-22 Academic Year
2021, Forecast Mentorship Program, Berlin
2019, March, Artist in Residence at National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS)
2017, Fall, Visual Arts Holtzbrinck Fellow, American Academy in Berlin
2015-2016, The Op-Ed Public Voices Thought Leadership Fellowship Program
2009-2011, Andrew Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California, Berkeley Art Practice Department
CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
2017, Ozge Samanci, Adam Snyder, Fiber Optic Ocean: Merging Media for Data Representation, IEEE VIS, VISAP 2017
2014, October, Comparative & Interdisciplinary Approaches in the Field of Turkish Studies Conference, Fast Forwarding through Turkey’s last 10 years with Ordinary Things
2014, April, Popular Culture Association / American Culture Association (PCA/ACA), Impact of Digital Media on Comics
2012, September, Toulousse, France, Fun and Games Conference, Expanding the Comics Canvas: GPS Comics. Ozge Samanci, Anuj Tewari
2012, August, Chicago, University Film and Video Association Conference, On the Air
2011, October, Savannah GA., The International Digital Media and Arts Association’s 9th annual conference, Full Body in Play: Manipulation of Distance
2010, November, Emily Carr University, Vancouver B.C., The International Digital Media and Arts Association’s 8th annual conference, Location-based Comics: GPS Comics, Ordinary Things, and Planting Comics
2010, September, Future and Reality of Gaming, 4th Vienna Games Conference, Embodied Comics: Reinventing Comics and Animation for a Digital Performance
2009, September, 090909 Nor Good Nor Bad Nor Neutral, University of California, Berkeley, Absurdity and Neutrality
2008, November, Adobe MAX 2008/2009 North America, San Francisco. Arts and Sciences, Theory and Practice, Digital Media Education
2007, June, 2nd International Conference on Tangible and Embedded Interaction. Murmur: Kinetic Relief Sculpture, Multi-Sensory Display, Listening Machine. Aimee Rydarowski, Ozge Samanci, and Ali Mazalek (presenter)
2007, June, Advances in Computer Entertainment (ACE). Tangible Comics: A Performance Space with Full-body Interaction. Ozge Samanci, Yanfeng Chen, and Ali Mazalek (presenter)
2006, December, The American Humor Studies Association Conference, New Orleans. Tangible Comics: A Narrative Performance Using Computer Vision
2006, November, MAE Center Coordination Meetings. Visualization and Decision Strategies for Seismic Loss Assessment, group project, presented by Gray Gunter
2006, April, National Meeting of Popular Culture and American Culture Associations, Atlanta. Lynda Barry's Humor: At the Juncture of Private and Public, Invitation and Dissemination, Childish and Professional
2005, September, San Francisco State University, Shades of Sexuality in Film; Exploring the 'Aberrant,' the 'Normal,' and the Space Between. A Jolt to Mainstream Cinema from Jane Campion: Detective and Femme Fatale Switching Their Roles in In the Cut
2005, May, The Fourth Annual Student Research and Creative Activity Fair, Ohio University, Athens. The Inevitable Affection among Animation, Graphic Novel, and Film Noir in the Digital Era: A Look at The Hudsucker Proxy from the Frame of the Hula-Hoop
2004, September, Society for Animation Studies Conference, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, The Blurry Borders between Digital and Analog Media, Live Action and Animation in Spielberg's Minority Report Part 2
2004, August, Cultural Issues in Developing 3D Worlds, Prague, Czech Republic. The Blurry Borders between Digital and Analog Media, Live Action and Animation in Spielberg's Minority Report Part 1
SELECTED ARTIST TALKS
(Upcoming) 2025, 18 Feb, Yale University
(Upcoming) 2025, 12 May, Stanford University
2024, 16 March, The Society of Illustrators, The Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art, MoCCA Arts Festival, Carousel Event, New York
2024, 11-12 May, Toronto Comics Arts Festival, Special Guest, Toronto
2023, 15 Mart, Bogazici University, Istanbul
2023, 7 March, Institut Français, Istanbul
2022, 11 October, The Middle East through Graphic Novel Class Visit, Stanford University
2022, August 9, Artist Talk, Siggraph 2022 Art Gallery
2022, 15 June, VastWaste, ISEA 2022, Universitat Politecnica De Catalunya, Spain
2022, May 4, Artist Talk, University of California San Diego
2022, May 4, Evil Eye: Graphic Novel, Kaplan Institute, Northwestern University
2022, April 8, Reading from Evil Eye: Graphic Novel Forecast Festival, RadialSystem, Berlin, Germany
2021, September 9, Evil Eye: Graphic Novel, 6th Forecast Forum, Berlin, Germany
2021, July 29, Artist Talk: Art and Animation in Mechanics: Communicating Science and Engineering in the 21st Century, U.S. National Committee for Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (USNC/TAM)
2021, July 27, The Kids Are Alright: Youth Culture and Politics in the Middle East and Latin America, New York University
2021, March 29, Dare to Disappoint, Salisbury University
2021, June 18, Dare to Disappoint, APTLI, University of Wisconsin-Madison
2020, July 13, Dare to Disappoint, TURFLI, University of Wisconsin-Madison
2020, July 20, Artist Talk, Dartmouth College Department of Film & Media Studies
2019 August 29, Fiber Optic Ocean, Siggraph 2019 Art Gallery
2019, March 11, Artist Talk, University of California Santa Barbara, Media Arts and Technology Graduate Program Seminar Series
2018, October 28, From Ego to Eco, Chicago Humanities Festival
2018, August 15, You are the Ocean, Siggraph 2018 Art Gallery
2017, November 27, Artist Talk, Universität der Künste Berlin
2017, November 9, Not Here but Everywhere, American Academy in Berlin
2016, December 7, Artist Talk, Izmir Economy University
2016, September 7-17, Dare to Disappoint, Berlin Literature Festival
2016, May 9, Dare to Disappoint, Northwestern University, M.S. in Leadership for Creative Enterprises
2016, March 31, Artist Talk, Rutgers University, Mason Gross School of the Arts
2016, April 27, Dare to Disappoint, DePaul University, Writing the City Class
2016, April 5, DM Alumni Talk, Georgia Institute of Technology, Digital Media Department
2016, April 12, Individual Against A Larger Force, University of Southern California, Cinematic Arts, World Building Media Lab
2016, Jan 25, MENA Monday, Northwestern University, Middle East and North African Studies
2015, January 16, Pushing the Boundaries of Media: Creating New Meaning-Making Strategies, Buffett Center, Northwestern University
2014, August 13, Impact of Digital Media on Comics, Studio Talks, SIGGRAPH’14, Vancouver
2012, February 28, Segal Seminar Series, In the Box or Out of the Box, Segal Design Institute, Northwestern University
SELECTED WORKSHOPS
LEAD
2024, April 27th, Comics and Collage, C2E2 Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo
2022, April, No Mistakes, Forecast Mentorship 6th Edition, Radial System
2017, August 19, Thinking with Metaphors, Northwestern University Summer Writers’ Conference
2016, July 7, Accessing and Navigating Memories, Northwestern University Summer Writers’ Conference
2010, February 26, Collective Intelligence /Alternate Reality Game Design Workshop, IF New Media Factory, Lexington, KY Workshop organized with Greg Niemeyer
PARTICIPATED
2019, November 18-19, NSF workshop, Cue.Next, Computing in Undergraduate Education, Evanston
2019, July 28-August 1, Code Crafting with TurtleStitch, SIGGRAPH 2019, Los Angeles
2019, July 28-August 1, Space as Interface: Creating Interactive Street Art SIGGRAPH 2019, Los Angeles
2019, July 28-August 1, 3D Printing on Fabric, SIGGRAPH 2019, Los Angeles
2019, July 28-August 1, Troubleshooting and Cleanup Techniques for 3D Printing, SIGGRAPH 2019, Los Angeles
2018, August 14, Sigggraph 2018 Studio, Led as Sensors
2018, July 29, Gray Area of Arts, Creating personal independent internet, Tools for the Next Revolution with Mathias Jud, San Francisco
2018 July 29, Gray Area of Arts, Intro to Biomaterials for Design with Annelie Koller, San Francisco
2017, July 26-28, Gray Area of Arts, Stepping into WebVR with A-Frame, San Francisco
2014, November 10, Advances in Computer Entertainment (ACE’14), Love and Sex with Robots
2014, May 22-23, Computing in the Arts: Music, Art, and Computation, Sponsored by National Science Foundation, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC
2013, November 12-15, Advances in Computer Entertainment (ACE’13), Touch, Taste, and Smell: Multisensory Entertainment.
2013, November 12-15, Advances in Computer Entertainment (ACE’13), XIMPEL, creating an interactive video
2012, September 4, Opportunities and Challenges when Designing and Developing Games with/for Kids, Fun and Games Conference, Toulouse, France
2011, July 10-15, Writing the Unthinkable, Writing workshop led by Lynda Barry, Rhinebeck, New York
2008, April 29-30, Responsive Objects, Surfaces and Spaces (ROSS), Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA
2007, January 19-21, 3-Day Seminar with Scott McCloud, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA
2001, The 9th Animated Film Workshop, Cracow, Animated Film Department of the Academy of Fine Arts, Krakow, Poland
SHORT FILMS and JURIED SCREENINGS
No Title, 2008, Animation by Ozge Samanci and Geoffrey Thomas, 10-minute
Sonic Generator Concert, 2008, 3rd April, Screening of the video accompanied by a live flute performance by Jessica Sherwood
Saving Diana, 2007, Directed by Gulgun Ozek, Animation by Ozge Samanci, 3 minutes
If Istanbul Shorts, 2007, 19th February,
18th Ankara International Film Festival, 2007, 12-22 April
Umbilical Cord, 2004, Fiction, created and directed by Ozge Samanci, 5-minute
Athens International Film and Video Festival, 2005, Screening
If Istanbul Shorts, 2005, Screening
1943, 2004. Performance Video, directed by Cicek Kahraman, 8 minutes 23 seconds, Performance and camera by Ozge Samanci
If Istanbul Shorts, 2005
Sleep and Then, 2004, Directed by Ovgu Gokce, 8 minutes 30 seconds, Credits: Design by Ozge Samanci
Columbia Tristar National Short Film Competition (Turkey), 2005, Best Experimental Film Award
16th Ankara International Film Festival, 2005, Best Experimental Film Award
Glasses, 2000, Directed by Ozge Samanci, 3 minutes 18 seconds
13th Ankara International Film Festival, 2001, Screening
13th Istanbul Short Film Festival, 2001, Screening
IFSAK Short Film Festival, 2001, Screening
JUROR
2024, February, Illinois Art Council Association, the Artist Fellowship Award
2019, October 16-27, Animated Short Film Jury, 55th Chicago International Film Festival
2017, Juror for NSK Neustadt Prize for Children’s Literature ($25K award for one author)
TEACHING
Northwestern University, Radio TV Film Department, Evanston, IL
Assistant Professor, 2011 – 2017
Associate Professor, 2017-present
2023, Filmmaking with Emerging Technologies
2023-2017, (Graduate course) Virtual and Alternate Reality Storytelling
2019, Critical Making
2015, (Graduate course) InteractiveDocumentary
2016-2011, Interactive Arts
2012, Interactive Comics
2023-2012, Computer Code for Arts
2013, Storyboarding and Layout
2023-2013, Drawing for Media
2016,2013 Graphic Novels
2014, Theory and Criticism of Digital Interactive Media
Northwestern University Prison Education Program at Stateville Correctional Center
2023 Drawing for Media
University of California, Berkeley, Art Practice, Berkeley, CA
Postdoctoral Fellow, 2009 - 2011
2011, (Graduate course) Special Topics in New Media: Interactive Narrative
2010,(Graduate course) Directed Group Study: Interactive Narrative
2010, Special Topics in Visual Studies: Comics and Graphic Novels
2009, Foundations of American Cyber-Culture
Georgia Institute of Technology, Digital Media, Atlanta, GA
Graduate Assistant, 2005 -2009
2005 -2009, Introduction to Film
Sabanci University, Visual Arts and Communication Design, Istanbul
Lecturer, 2006 Summer
2006, Introduction to Film and Media Studies
Ohio University, School of Communication Studies, Athens, OH
Teaching Associate, 2003 - 2005
2003 – 2005, Public Speaking
Istanbul Bilgi University, Visual Communication Design Dept, Istanbul
Full-time Lecturer, 2001-2003
2001-2003, Visual Perception
2001-2003, Contemporary Media
2001-2003, Introduction to Animation
2001-2003, Senior Project
Istanbul Bilgi University, Visual Communication Design Dept, Istanbul
Teaching Assistant, 1998-2001
1998-2001, Visual Perception (Teaching Assistant)
1998-2001, Art and Culture (Teaching Assistant)
1998-2001, History of Visual Culture (Teaching Assistant)
1998-2001, Image and Word (Teaching Assistant)
PANELIST
(Upcoming) 2025, June 2, LG&TBQ2, a conference celebrating the mathematics of LGBTQ+ mathematicians in geometry, topology and dynamics, Montreal, Canada
(Upcoming) 2025, April 17-18 Panelist: NU IDEAS Summit, Living Our Values, Women’s Club of Evanston.
2025, January 23, AI and the Humanities, San Francisco, California
2024, October 23, Exhibition Keynote: Federico Solmi in Conversation, Block Museum, Evanston
2024, February 1, Generative AI + Entertainment: Opportunity, Ethics, and Law, LA, California
2024, April 26, Titles That You Should Be Reading, Teaching, And Recommending, C2E2 (Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo)
2022, March 4, Book Discussion with Jenny White, Ergün Gündüz, and Özge Samancı, Keyman Institute, Northwestern University
2022, February 22 Muslim Comics and Women Artists, University of Georgia
2017, August 19, Writing Chicago: Northwestern University Summer Writers’ Conference Traveling the World and Within
2016, June 12, Panelist, Printers Row Festival, Chicago
2016, May 7, Speaker and Panelist, Evanston Literary Festival, Evanston Public Library
2016, March 20, Panelist, Go Graphic, Graphic Novels, C2E2 (Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo)
2014, April, Panelist and juror on Dorkly's C2E2 (Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo) discussion of fan art
2012, Samanci, O., Fernández-Vara, C., Gingold, C., & Murray, J. Digital Media Scholarship and the Re-imaging of the Humanities.
ADHOC REVIEWER
2023, 2022, 2020, 2018, American Academy in Berlin, Berlin Prize, Reviewer for Fellows Selection
2018, ArtsIT, Interactivity & Game Creation
2018, 2017, 2016, 2015 IEEE VIS Arts Program (Advances in Scientific and Information Visualization)
2016, SIGGRAPH Arts Papers Reviewer
2013, CHI 2013 (Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems)
2013 TEI 2013 (Tangible Embedded Interaction)
2013 ISMAR 2013 (International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality)
2011, TEI 2011 Graduate Student Consortium (Tangible Embedded Interaction Conference)
SELECTED PRESS
The Guardian — 2024, December 2, James Smart, The Best Graphic Novels of 2024
The Comics Journal — 2024, October 15, Leonard Pierce, Evil Eyes Sea
The New York Times Book Review — 2024, May 5, Evil Eyes Sea
Le Figaro — 2023, 6 February, Delphine Minoui, Özge Samanci, artiste à contre-courant, dessine son pays
TV5 Monde — 2022, 24 November, Le 64' - L'actualité International, (Interview at 19:30)
Le Point — 2022, 16 November, Romain Brethes, Découvrez « La Vie Gourmande », Prix Wolinski de la BD du « Point » 2022
The Guardian — 2016, 10 February, Kathryn Bromwich, On my radar: China Miéville’s Cultural Highlights
Smithsonian APA / Book Dragon — 2016, 19 February, Terry Hong, Dare to Disappoint: Growing Up in Turkey by Özge Samanci
The Daily Beast — 2016, 31 January, Ozge Samanci, Being an Immigrant Is Now Even Harder
Slate — 2016, 08 January, Dan Kois, Dare to Disappoint
Chicago Tonight, WTTW (Chicago PBS) — 2016, 04 January, Phil Ponce, Northwestern Professor Tells Turkish Coming-of-Age Story
New Republic — 2015, 17 December, Kaya Genc, The Graphic Memoir Comes to Turkey
The New York Times — 2015, 9 December, Maria Russo, A Different World
Deutsche Welle — 2016, 06 October, Ceyda Nurthsch, Kunst - Zum Trotz! Kultur Zwischen Widerstand und Zensur in der Türkei
PRESS IN ENGLISH
The Guardian — 2024, December 2, James Smart, The Best Graphic Novels of 2024
Forecast — 2024, November 18, Murder on the Bosphorus
El-Monitor, AL-Monitor — 2025, Jan 31, Nazlan Ertan, Istanbul: Exhibit at Home of Famed Femme Fatale
Imagining Turkey Podcast — 2024, October 28, Takhayyul, Ozge Samanci and Her Graphic Novels
The Comics Journal — 2024, October 15, Leonard Pierce, Evil Eyes Sea
Murder and Mayhem — 2024, September 13, Elisa Shoenberger, Let's Get Graphic: 7 Recent Mystery Graphic Novels
Northwestern Magazine — 2024, August 19, Diana Babineau, Evil Eyes Sea
Turkey Book Talk — 2024, July 16, William Armstrong, Ozge Samanci on Visualizing Istanbul’s Sociopolitical Currents
Isthmus — 2024, July 15, What to do in Madison this week: Palm Ghosts, Özge Samanci and More Isthmus Picks
The New York Times Book Review — 2024, May 5, Evil Eyes Sea
Third Coast Review — 2024, May 4, Devony Hof, Review: In Evil Eyes Sea, Two Women Uncover a Mystery at the Heart of Turkish Culture
Publishers Weekly — 2024, April 29, Evil Eyes Sea
Women Write about Comics — 2024, April 14, Emily Lauer, Alenka Figa, WWACommendations: Les Normaux, Evil Eyes Sea, Flying Kites and More
BookList — 2024, March 15, Terry Hong, Evil Eyes Sea
The Beat — 2024, Feb 27, Graphic Novel Trailer: Scuba Meets Stone Cold Corruption in Evil Eyes Sea
Multiversity Comics — 2023, 2 November, Christopher Chiu-Tabet, The Rundown
ICV2 — 2023, 1 November, Brigid Alverson, The Business of the Geek Culture,
Book Riot — 2021, 13 January, Leah Rachel von Essen, 9 Graphic Memoirs And True Stories By Women
Made in Bed — 2023, 12 April, Forecast Berlin: Lightning with a Chance of Sea Change
Esthetic Lens — 2020, 14 November, 5 Questions: Media Artist and Graphic Novelist Özge Samanci
Book Riot — 2020, 3 October, Julia Rittenberg, Four Great Global Graphic Novels
Animation Magazine — 2019, 20 May, Ramin Zahed, SIGGRAPH to Showcase Immersive Art Exhibit in Los Angeles
Esthetic Lens — 2019, 13 August, 5 Questions: Media Artist and Graphic Novelist Özge Samanci
Medium.com — 2019, July 23, Yash Gugale, SIGGRAPH 2019 Series (2) — Fiber Optic Ocean (Art Gallery)
Pulp — 2019, K.A. Letts, "Works in Progress" is a celebration of beauty and chaos at Ann Arbor Art Center
Digicult — 2018, Kathy Rae Huffman, “Original Narratives”: The Art Gallery at SIGGRAPH 2018
Pasatiempo — 2018, 8 June, Grace Parazzoli, Making Waves: Ozge Samanci and Gabriel Caniglia's "You Are the Ocean"
The Cut — 2017, 19 Jan, Claire Landsbaum, Resistance in This Tabloid Paper
Bookwitty — 2017, 23 May, Canan Marasligil, In the Graphic Memoir, Dare to Disappoint, Özge Samanci Talks about Growing up in Turkey
The News-Gazette — 2016, 20 November, Patricia Hruby Powell, Inspirational Graphic Novel A Great Gift
Hurriyet Daily News — 2016, 12 October, William Armstrong, Özge Samanci on ‘Dare to Disappoint: Growing up in Turkey
Qantara.de — 2016, 5 October, Ceyda Nurthsch, Pressure on artists in Turkey is Increasing
Hurriyet Daily News — 2016, 09 June, William Armstrong, ‘Dare to Disappoint: Growing Up In Turkey’ by Ozge Samanci
Northwestern Magazine — 2016, Summer, Elizabeth Canning Blackwell, Drawing Outside the Box
Status Hour — 2016, 20 April, Julie Hakim Azzam, Why a Turkish Woman Artist Must Dare to Disappoint
Grand Forks Herald — 2016, 27 March, Book Notes
The Huffington Post — 2016, 8 March, Ozge Samanci, How I Became an Artist: Tips for Changing Careers
The National — 2016, 29 February, David Lepeska, Book Review: Dare to Disappoint, A Bold Tale about Coming of Age in Turkey
The Register-Guard — 2016, 28 February, Kori Kunz, Memoir from Turkey, “Dare to Disappoint,” Delivers
The Guardian — 2016, 10 February, Kathryn Bromwich, On my radar: China Miéville’s Cultural Highlights
Smithsonian APA — 2016, 19 February, Terry Hong, Dare to Disappoint: Growing Up in Turkey by Özge Samanci
Today's Zaman — 2016, 10 February, Charlotte McPherson, Cultural Transitions and Foreign Devils
The Comics Alternative — 2016, 8 February, Gwen Tarbox and Andy Kunka, Podcast Review
The Daily Beast — 2016, 31 January, Ozge Samanci, Being an Immigrant Is Now Even Harder
San Francisco Chronicle — 2016, 29 January, Susan Faust, Dare to Disappoint: Growing Up in Turkey
Sun-Sentinel — 2016, 19 January, Michael Berry, Book review: Dare to Disappoint: Growing Up in Turkey
Slate — 2016, 08 January, Dan Kois, Dare to Disappoint
Chicago Tonight, WTTW (Chicago PBS) — 2016, 04 January, Phil Ponce, Northwestern Professor Tells Turkish Coming-of-Age Story
Shelf Awareness — 2015, 29 December, Karin Snelson, Dare to Disappoint
A.V. Club — 2015, 22 December, Tim O’Neil, Dare to Disappoint
New Republic — 2015, 17 December, Kaya Genc, The Graphic Memoir Comes to Turkey
The New York Times — 2015, 9 December, Maria Russo, A Different World
Kirkus — 2015, 10 December, Julie Danielson, Reliving Childhood with Özge Samanci
Los Angeles Review of Books — 2015, 9 December, Charles Whitney, Coming of Age in Turkey
The Buffalo News — 2015, 6 December, Jean Westmoore, Books in Brief: Dare to Disappoint: Growing up in Turkey
The Chicago Tribune — 2015, 3 December, Jeremy Mikula, Chicago Book News
The Beat — 2015, 1 December, Cal Cleary, Interview: Özge Samanci on Art, Family, and a Love of Learning
Anadolu Agency — 2015, 26 November, Handan Kazanci, Artist’s comic book revives ‘80s Turkey
Boing Boing — 2015, 16 November, At least Turkey's tragic politics gives material to comics artists
The Paste Magazine — 2015, 16 November, Sean Edgar, Exclusive Preview: Ozge Samanci Grows Alongside Her Country in Dare to Disappoint
The Beat — 2015, 16 November, Kyle Pinion, Exclusive Preview: ‘Dare to Disappoint’ paints a vivid portrait of growing up in Turkey
Writer's Digest — 2015, 10 November, How I Write My Graphic Novels: A Breakdown from Ozge Samanci
Publishers Weekly — 2015, 9 November, Dare to Disappoint: Growing Up in Turkey
Kirkus Starred Review — 2015, 6 October, A Bright, Perceptive Bildungsroman With a Distinctive Setting
The Brain Scoop — 2015, 16 September, Emily Graslie, Fiber Optic Ocean by Ozge Samanci, Blog of Field Museum in Chicago
Turkey.com — 2014, 21 July, Yesim Burul, Welcome to the Extraordinary World of Ozge Samanci
Rumpus — 2013, 12 February, Joen Madonna, Spotlight Ozge Samanci
Bay Nature — 2010, 15 July, Melanie Jones, Artist Plants Comics at UC Botanical Garden
Atlanta Journal-Constitution — 2008, 8 August, Kirsten Tagami, Georgia Tech Team Develops Interactive Comics
Colouring Outside the Lines — 2007, April, An Interview by Melanie Maddison, Issue 3, Ozge Samanci
Fleen — 2007, October 17, Anne Thalheimer, Online+Comic=Webcomic? (Survey says)
Illustrophile — 2008, 03 September 03, Featured: Ozge Samanci,
Artpatient.com — 2008, 26 October, Delos, Ordinary Things What Did I Learn?
Blanket Magazine — 2007, Siobhan Frost et al., Issue 7 The Aqua Issue, p. 142
PRESS IN TURKISH
Medyascope — 2024, 30 June, Isil Oz, Işıl Öz’ün Özge Samancı Ile Söyleşisi
Karar Gazetesi — 2023, 13 November, Sedat Palut, Türkiye’de Her Büyüme Hikâyesi Sancılı
Oksijen — 2023, 21 April, Aysegul Dogandemir, Gazete Oksijen, Otobiyografik Bir Büyüme Hikayesi
Litera Edebiyat — 2023, 30 April, Aynur Kulak, 14 Yaş Civarı, Hayatıma Nasıl Bir Yön Versem Kaygısı Başlıyor
Edebiyat Haber — 2023, 27 March, Burak Soyer, Şimdi Onlar üzülsün!
Ajandakolik — 2023, 7 March, Nilufer Turkoglu, Özge Samanci: “Herkesin Süper Bi̇r Gücü Var. Benimkisi de Geçmişi Tüm Detaylariyla Hatirlayabilmek”
Kalem Kahve Klavye — 2023, 7 March, Cagla Ozden, Bırak Üzülsünler “Büyüyünce Ne Olacaksın?”a Verdiği Cevapları Unutan Kuşak
The Independent Turkish — 2022, Esra Oz, Önlem Alınmazsa…
Ne Orali Ne Burali — 2019, Isil Oz, Karakarga Yayinlari, Istanbul, Ozge Samanci
BUMED Dergi — 2017, June, Elvin Vural, Portre
Iz TV Dergisi, Merak Et — 2017, March, Merve Damci, Gecmise Mektup, Birak Uzulsunler
Hurriyet — 2017, 23 February, Bahar Cuhadar, Akintiya Karsi Yüzme Cesareti Veren Resimli bir Macera...
Bes Harfliler — 2017, 5 January, Kiraz Akin, Bir Çizgi Roman: Bırak Üzülsünler
CNN Turk — 2016, 29 December, İşte İletişim'de Yeni Yılın Ilk Kitapları
Milliyet Sanat — 2016, September, Kaya Genc, The Book that Travelled the World Comes to its Own
Agos — 2016, 29 February, Burkem Cevher, Growing up in Turkey in the 80s
Haber Turk — 2016, 24 January, Gulenay Borekci, ‘Mutlu Olmak için Bazen Sevdiklerimizi Mutsuz Etmemiz Gerekir’
Bant Magazin — 2016, January, Ekin Sanac, “En önemli Hazinem Hafızam”: Özge Samancı
Vogue Turkey — 2016, January, Merve Arkunlar, Black Box of Our Childhood
Bes Harfliler — 2015, 29 December, Kiraz Akin, Ozge Samanci’s Graphic Novel: Growing up in Turkey
Adaptasyon — 2015, 20 December, Mahir Yavuz, Onur Akmehmet, - Özge Samanci
BirGun — 2015, 13 December, Meltem Gurle, Kayıp Zamanın İzinde: Özge Samancı
T24 — 2015, 16 November, Isil Oz, Türk Eğitim Sistemi Içinde Nasıl Pelteye Dönüştüğümüzün Hikayesi: Dare to Disappoint
Adaptasyon — 2015, 31 January, Mahir Yavuz, Onur Akmehmet, - Özge Samanci
T24 — 2015, 9 January 2015, Isil Oz, Hiçbir Düşünce ya da Inanç, Insan Hayatından Kutsal Değildir
T24 — 2013, 22 July, Isil Oz, Comic-con: Keşfetme Ve Keşfedilme Yeri
T24 — 2012, 18 February, Isil Oz, Türkiye'yi Amerikalılara çizgi Romanla Anlatacak
Turkish Journal — 2010, 28 November, Isil Oz, Yazi ve Imge Sihirbazi
Grafik Tasarim Issue 21, p. 14-16. — 2008, June, Volkan Eksi, Ozge Samanci
PRESS IN FRENCH
Radio French — 2023, 10 May, Laetitia Gayet, Bande dessinée: "Journal inquiet d'Istanbul" & "Nager à contre-courant", deux histoires turques
Le Figaro — 2023, 6 February, Delphine Minoui, Özge Samanci, artiste à contre-courant, dessine son pays
RFI (Radio French International) — 2022, 9 December, Anne Andlauer, Noël en Allemagne: le sapin de la sobriété fait polémique
Ernest! Magazine — 2022, 25 November, David Medioni, La Turque du future
OrientXXI — 2022, 25 November, Jean Michel Morel, Une enfance en Turquie
TV5 Monde — 2022, 24 November, Le 64' - L'actualité internationale (interview at 19:30)
ActuaBD — 2022, 24 November, Didier Pasamonik, Özge Samancı, une enfance en Turquie
Le Point — 2022, 16 November, Romain Brethes, Découvrez « La Vie gourmande », prix Wolinski de la BD du « Point » 2022
DBD Magazine — 2022, 31 October, Choisir Sa Case
BDGest — 2022, 14 October, Mr. Natali, Nager à contre-courant : une enfance en Turquie
Observatoire Turquie — 2022, 08 October, Nora Seni, « Nager à contre-courant » d’Özge Samanci, un nouveau météore dans l’univers de la BD turque
L’OBS — 2022, 08 October, Eric Aeschimann, Renaud Février et Amandine Schmitt, « La grosse laide », « Journal inquiet d’Istanbul », « Ténébreuse »… : nos 14 BD préférées de la rentrée
Des Minutes de Lumiére en Plus — 2022, 9 December, Par Pierre Vavasseur, Özge a eu raison d’oser
PRESS IN GERMAN
Deutsche Welle — 2016, 06 October, Ceyda Nurthsch, Kunst - zum Trotz! Kultur zwischen Widerstand und Zensur in der Türkei
Qantana.de — 2016, 05 October, Ceyda Nurthsch, Der Druck auf türkische Künstler wächst
PRESS IN DUTCH
NRC Handelsblad — 2016, 29 December, Ron Rijghard, Getekende levensverhalen
Cutting Edge — 2016, 17 June, Özge Samanci, ‘Teleurstellen vergt lef’
Hebban — 2016, 21 June, Koen Driessens, Graphic memoir stelt niet teleur
PRESS IN GREEK
Kathimerini — 2016, 14 February, George Lialios, As A Child, I Thought Greece was Blue, Like Its Mountains
PRESS IN ITALIAN
Linkieasta — 2016, 31 January, Elisa Pierandrei, Dare to Disappoint
PRESS IN FLEMISH
De Standaard — 2016, 12 August, Duran Duran and Islam
PRESS IN PORTUGUESE
Folha de S. Paulo — 2018, 4 July, Em festival de arte eletronica, visitante pode controlar oceano e esticar corpos nus
Guia Folha — 2018, June, Espaços culturais de São Paulo inauguram grandes exposições coletivas
SP1 News — 2018, 5 July, Festival reúne obras de arte que provocam o corpo em SP
Veja Sao Paulo — 2018, 11 August, O que fazer no fim de semana sem gastar nada
PRESS IN CATALAN
TerrassaDigital — 2022, 14 June, Veure la deixalla espacial de forma immersiva des del CITM
PRESS IN KOREAN
독서신문 — Seo Mi-deum, 2018, 10 August, It's Okay to Disappoint, Go Find Your Dream
PRESS IN PERSIAN
Ketab News — 2020, 19 October, The story of a teenage girl growing up in contemporary Türkiye