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Art Exhibit About Transgender History Banned in Turkey
Local authorities in Turkey banned an art exhibition exploring transgender history on Thursday as the country continues its crackdown against the LGBTQ+ community.
The Beyoğlu district governorate handed the orders on Thursday to Depo Istanbul. The government claimed that the exhibit “incited the public to hatred” in the reasoning for the ban. This forced the non-profit artist space to close down the exhibit temporarily. In a statement to the press, the gallery’s legal team will push for an appeal against the ban.
Art journal editor Kültigin Kağan Akbulut pointed out that this recent action was unique because it was the first time the government explicitly banned an art exhibition in years.
“In Turkey, censorship in art typically happens beforehand through self-censorship,” they said. “Because Istanbul Pride is being monitored, all it takes is one social media post to make it onto the state’s radar.”
Tracking the Transgender Community’s Fight for Rights
Turn and See Back: Revisiting Trans Revolutions in Turkey, focuses largely on the history of transgender people in the country. It reportedly included archival photographs and materials, old posters, and neon works from local artists. A portion of the exhibit, “Sigh Room,” paid tribute to over 100 trans individuals who were killed or had committed suicide since 1980.
Due to the nature of LGBTQ+ rights in Turkey, Depo Istanbul promoted the exhibit via word of mouth. Hundreds of people visited the exhibit in the two weeks it was open before the ban was put in place.
Jiyan Andiç, one of the curators of Turn and See Back, said that the exhibit was created to push back against right-wing narratives about transgender people that dehumanize and remove their place in Turkish history.
“Calling people ‘illegal’ is part of a process that now aims to dehumanize and criminalize LGBT+ people,” the curator said. “This exhibition was a way of saying: ‘We are not a threat, perverts or groups managed from abroad, but we have always been here.’”
Marginalizing and Criminalizing Queer Rights in Turkey
The rights of the LGBTQ+ community in Turkey have been under attack in Turkey for more than a decade. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is against LGBTQ+ rights, calling them “deviants” while targeting the community. His government has pushed to suppress Istanbul Pride since 2015, meeting protestors with tear gas, riot shields, and rubber bullets.
Erdoğan’s government also pushed back against freedom of speech and women’s rights in the country. Violence against women has risen during Erdoğan’s term, and similar to the LGBTQ+ community, gatherings like the Feminist Night March have been banned by the Turkish government.
The 10th Istanbul Trans Pride Week, who helped organize the exhibit, remained defiant as they condemned the Turkish government for the ban.
“Even if you ban us, we will always preserve our archives and resistance history. You cannot erase us, our history, or our traces; we know how to seep through every crack, as our history in the exhibition shows,” they said in a statement.
“Our resistance, our mourning, our joy, and how we live through the struggle were all displayed through that we brought together for the exhibition, declaring that this movement has a history of at least 40 years! We have never bowed to oppression! We resisted tirelessly! Look at us, see how beautiful we are!”
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