Ozan Sağdıç was born in 1934 in Burhaniye Pelitköy. He spent his childhood and early youth in Edremit, and while attending middle school in İzmir, his art and craft teacher was the painter Âbidin Elderoğlu. He went on to study at Kabataş High School in Istanbul as a boarding student, and during the summer vacation of 1953, he acquired his first box camera. He began capturing various scenes of Istanbul, and in 1954, he documented an event when the Bosphorus was covered in ice—his first experience with contemporary photography.

At one point, he worked as an assistant machinist at Lâle Cinema in his hometown Edremit and helped with the layout at the Edremit newspaper published by his older brother. In 1955, after returning to Istanbul, he began working at his first photo studio, Foto Sait. One evening, Mr. Sait introduced him to the board of the Istanbul General Photographers Association, where he was appointed as the secretary. Through this role, he got to know many photographers in Istanbul. Working at the studio of the association’s president, Şevket Tanju, he learned all the intricacies of portrait photography. With a borrowed Rolleiflex camera, he captured beautiful scenes of Istanbul.

In 1956, he caught the attention of the team behind the weekly magazine Hayat. As soon as the magazine started publication, he became one of its first two photo reporters alongside Ara Güler and worked with the Istanbul team until 1960. That year, he was transferred to Hayat magazine’s newly opened Ankara office.

From that point on, he continued his career in journalism and photography in Ankara. There, he began photographing the stage performances of the State Theaters and contributed to their printed publications by designing the first theatre posters with a modern graphic sense. He also created book and publication covers that reflected contemporary graphic trends, and made significant contributions to the archival and promotional publications of the Ministries of Tourism and Culture. In 1968, one of his photos, sent to The British Journal of Photography, was published as the “Photo of the Year.”

Throughout his career, Sağdıç has held around 50 personal exhibitions in Turkey and abroad. His diaporama shows, synchronized with music, have attracted special attention on several occasions. Additionally, he taught photography and art courses during the early years of the Faculty of Communication at Ankara University and the Faculty of Fine Arts at Hacettepe University.

In recognition of his contributions to Turkish photography, he was honored as an honorary member by both AFSAD and BUFSAD, and he was one of the founding members of FSK. Over the years, Sağdıç has served on various committees and advisory boards, including the UNESCO National Commission Culture Committee and the Cultural Ministry’s Art Advisory Board. He has also provided art consultancy to many organizations, such as TSE, the Turkish Cultural Foundation, and TKV. In addition to receiving the title of State Artist in 1998, he has been awarded numerous prizes, including the Art Institution Award in 1985, the Aydın Doğan Award in 2014, the TFSF Artist of the Year for 2020–2021, and the ÇAĞSAV Art Award in 2023.

Ozan Sagdıç exhibition video

A conversation with Ozan Sagdıç

Virtual tour of the exhibition