Education
London College of Communication, University of the Arts London MA Photojournalism and Documentary Photography, 2025-2026
Royal College of Art, London MA Painting, 2023-2024
Edinburgh College of Art, The University of Edinburgh BA (Hons) Fine Art: Painting, 2017-2021 - First Class Honours
Exhibitions
Royal College of Art - Graduate Show 2024, The Royal College of Art, 2024
Queer Time, The Outsiders Gallery, London, 2024
Toilet Etiquette, Bermondsey Arts Club, London, 2023
A Slash of Blue, Gerald Moore Gallery, London, 2023
Colour Exhibition, The Glasgow Gallery of Photography, Glasgow, 2023
SSA 130 Years | 30 x 30, The Royal Scottish Academy, 2022
Late at Tate Britain: Art Now, Shawanda Corbett, Tate Britain, 2022
Contemporary Painting Exhibition, The Brick Lane Gallery, London, 2022
Spring Exhibition, London Lighthouse Gallery, London, 2022
Alt-D TENDERFOOT, Edinburgh Palette, Edinburgh, 2022
Nasty Woman Revive, Open House Hackney, London, 2022
Edinburgh College of Art - Graduate Show 2021, The University of Edinburgh, 2021
Room With a View, Google Arts and Culture, 2020
Autonomy Exhibition, Whitespace Gallery, Edinburgh, 2020
Space Jam, Reid Concert Music Hall, Edinburgh, 2020
Filling Voids, Edinburgh College of Art, 2019
Christmas Exhibition, Edinburgh College of Art, Edinburgh, 2018
untitled DOKument, DOK Artist Space, Edinburgh, 2018
Ela Ertan (b. 1999) is a multidisciplinary artist from London, UK, of Turkish-Cypriot and Iranian heritage.
Working across photography, music and painting, her practice is rooted in storytelling and observation — exploring memory, fantasy, identity and place. She is drawn to rich colour, emotional atmosphere and the quiet beauty of everyday moments.
After graduating with a BA in Painting from Edinburgh College of Art (2021), she completed an MA in Painting at the Royal College of Art (2024). In 2025, she will begin an MA in Photojournalism and Documentary Photography at London College of Communication, UAL — a shift that reflects her focus on photography as her primary medium.
Her photographic work spans portraiture, social documentary, and diaristic imagery. A background in painting continues to inform her visual language — particularly her sensitivity to tone, composition and narrative.
Working across disciplines allows Ertan to move fluidly between mediums — each one informing and enriching the other.