Ahmet Polat named Fotograaf des Vaderlands

The Turkish-Dutch photographer Ahmet Polat (37) – lecturer in the Crossmedia Design programme at AKI ArtEZ Enschede – has been named Fotograaf des Vaderlands (‘Dutch Photographer of the Year’), an initiative of the Fotoweek foundation (the photographers Ilvy Njiokiktjien and Koen Hauser preceded him). Throughout the year, Polat acts as an ambassador for Dutch photography.

Polat grew up in Fijnaart, a village in the province of North Brabant. He studied photography at the St. Joost Academy in Breda. At AKI ArtEZ, he was involved in the transformation of the Visual Communication department into the Crossmedia Design department of today. Polat has lived in Istanbul for the past few years, however, he returned to the Netherlands at the beginning of this year to once again take up a post as lecturer at Crossmedia Design. His work has found its way into places such as the Stedelijk Museum and the Foam Photography Museum. Polat’s work is autonomous and commercial: he has worked for magazines such as Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar and was the Art Director of Vogue Turkey for a year.
Further info (in Dutch): http://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2015/04/22/ahmet-polat-benoemd-tot-fotograaf-des-vaderlands/