Ali Akay (1957), born in Istanbul, completed his bachelor's degree in sociology at Paris VIII University in 1979, his master's degree in 1980, and defended his doctoral thesis in 1986. During the same period, he also completed bachelor's and master's degrees in political science and philosophy. At Mimar Sinan University of Fine Arts, he has been teaching in the Sociology Department since 1990 and in the Painting Department since 1992.

He has published numerous articles and catalog essays in Turkey, France, Germany, Austria, England, Kazakhstan, Israel, Slovenia, and the United States in the interdisciplinary fields of sociology, sociology of art, philosophy, and art history. He has published more than 20 books with publishers such as Bağlam, Ayrıntı, Minör, Belge, Yapı Kredi, Dedalus, Doğu Batı, Boğaziçi, and Kime. His writings appeared in the journals he founded, Toplumbilim from 1991 to 2012 and Teorik Bakış from 2012 to the present.

He has curated numerous exhibitions in galleries and museums around the world. He worked as an independent curator and consultant at the Istanbul Modern Museum (2004-2007) and the Akbank Cultural Arts Center (2003-2012), as well as at Şekerbank Açıkekran (2011-2022). His recent exhibitions include: “Seven Questions About Asia” (6th Kuandu Biennial, Taipei, 2018), ‘Whisper’ (City Art Gallery, Ljubljana, 2018), and “Cold Air from the Balkans” (Pera Museum, Istanbul, 2016).

Ali Akay, who has given lectures, seminars, and conferences at various universities such as Paris VIII, INHA, Sorbonne (Paris), Humboldt (Berlin), and Columbia (New York), as well as at various museums in different cities, will curate the 6th Mardin Biennial in May 2024.