Through his photography and fieldwork, Ahmet Polat aspires to build bridges between different cultures, identities and histories. After living and working in Istanbul for ten years he returned to the Netherlands in 2015 and was awarded the Laureate Photographer of the Nation the same year. His work is internationally exhibited, including in the Rijksmuseum, Istanbul Modern, Stedelijk Amsterdam and BOZAR Brussel. With Studio Polat Foundation, Ahmet wishes to instigate, stimulate and support collaborations and mutual benefits between various disciplines and creative worlds.

Annejet Brandsma is connected to Studio Polat since the very start. She creates visual content through design, photography, video and other visual techniques. She studied Crossmedia Design and graduated Cum Laude in 2017. With her personal photography and film Annejet tries to capture people in small moments who are dealing with social changes. She asks the viewer, to stop and think about social structures. Within the studio, Annejet hopes to create work that shows the power of the image and offer nuance in the fleeting visual culture of today.

From a young age, Marijn has been interested in various forms of culture: from photography or theater to museums or festivals. She expanded this interest during her studies Arts, Culture and Politics at the University of Amsterdam. It is her goal to introduce everyone to art, culture and creativity from a young age and to lower the barriers to do so in every possible way, while still maintaining quality and depth in the works made or the stories told. At the Studio, Marijn is not only the grammar nazi, but also our organizational production manager.

After getting her BA degree at Dartmouth College (NH, USA) Yasemin started working in art galleries in Istanbul. She worked at Gallery x-ist with contemporary Turkish artists for seven years, attending international art fairs such as Art Basel Hong Kong, Arco Madrid, Vienna Art Fair, Photo London, Art Dubai and Art Stage Singapore. Between 2016-2019 she curated and managed Leica Gallery Istanbul, which hosted internationally renowned photographers as well as local artists who create challenging photographic work. Working in close collaboration with Leica Headquarters in Germany, the goal was to spread a deeper understanding of photography through exhibitions, talks and workshops. As a freelance journalist, Yasemin regularly writes about exhibitions and gives talks on topics such as collecting contemporary art, the photography market, preparing artist portfolios. She currently lives between Luxembourg and Istanbul and works as a freelance curator, consultant and writer.