Bahar Temiz (born in 1983 in Istanbul) develops a performative practice in which the body and language become tools for observation and transformation. At the heart of her research lies a desire to make sense of the world by inscribing urgent questions into the materiality of the body, sculpting them within performative space.

After studying philosophy at Université Paris IV – La Sorbonne, she trained in dance at Artez Dance Academy in the Netherlands. She later continued her education in the choreographic program Ex.e.r.ce 09/10 at the Centre Chorégraphique National de Montpellier. Bahar holds the French State Diploma for teaching contemporary dance as well as a Master’s degree in Dance from Université Paris VIII – Vincennes Saint-Denis. She is currently attending the Fascia, Meditation and Dance course with Nadine Quéré in Paris.

As a performer, she has collaborated with artists such as Marc Vanrunxt and Ivana Müller. In 2015, she co-created Trailer, presented at Salt Beyoğlu in Istanbul. In 2016, she worked with Felix Mathias Ott on M.A.R.S., which was presented at several festivals, including Tanz im August in Berlin and the Sharjah Biennial.

Her work maintains a close dialogue with scenography. Since 2020, she has collaborated regularly with visual artist Pol Matthé and composer Charo Calvo. Moving fluidly between theatres and museums, Bahar Temiz is currently an associated artist at KVS, where she is developing a series of stage projects — ICE, PUNKT, and BĒTON. These projects explore the relationships between movement, text, and scenography while engaging with contemporary issues such as climate change, migration, isolation, and representation.

ICE, structured around a dynamic constellation of ropes and inspired by the story of Antarctic explorers racing to reach the South Pole, asks: who was first — and who will be the last to step onto our warming planet?

BĒTON, taking concrete as both material and metaphor, reflects on how liquid matter hardens to create divisions between inside and outside. Accompanied by twenty-four soft blocks and a pillow, Bahar interrogates the notion of home: what would you take with you if you had to leave and could never return? The piece also resonates with the calls of rescuers searching for survivors after the 2023 earthquake in Turkey and Syria: “Is there anyone who hears me — or us?”