Gökçe Okandan

Gökçe Okandan completed her undergraduate and master’s studies in economics and business administration at Istanbul and Innsbruck Universities, and her doctoral research on the relationship between art and management at Istanbul University with support from the Copenhagen Business School Art & Leadership Center. She later pursued postdoctoral research at Princeton University’s Center for Arts Policy Research with a TÜBİTAK scholarship and earned the title of Associate Professor.

Between 2004 and 2006, she worked as a consultant for major Turkish companies on strategy and scenario techniques. Since 2006, she has designed and facilitated participatory projects for civil society organizations, artist initiatives, and cultural policy programs, including moderating the “Spaces of Culture” program (2018–2022). At Istanbul Bilgi University, she directed the Cultural Management and LITE Graduate Programs (2015–2022) and later taught in Sharjah and Berlin.

Her expertise bridges cultural policy, creative industries, and arts management. She is a member of AICA, advisor to YEKON, the Theater Cooperative, and Jazz Network Türkiye, and contributed to Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality’s Vision 2050 Cultural Policy and UNESCO’s Creative City Design Istanbul chapter. She represents Türkiye in UNESCO/EU’s Culture2030 Indicators Expert Facility and advises the National Committee’s digitalization task force.

Her research focuses on innovation and sustainability in art, design, and creative entrepreneurship. A co-founder and associate of Culture Unleashed, she now serves as Key Expert for Türkiye’s Ministry of Industry and Technology in the EU-funded INSPIRE project, supporting the creative economy’s transformation.