Film
Turkey Targets Film Deemed “LGBT Propaganda”
The Turkish Culture Ministry has demanded its funding back on an award-winning independent film after a smear campaign by conservative media.
Jennifer Hattam
Jennifer Hattam is a freelance journalist based in Istanbul, where she writes about arts and culture, environmental issues, food and drink, politics and society, travel, and urbanism.
Performance
The Stage as a "Living Concept" in Turkey's Performance Art
While The 90s Onstage looks back to a dynamic moment in Turkey's performance art scene, Ata Doğruel's "Light Source" reflects on the present.
Art
Photographing History’s Silences and Gaps
A former journalist, Sim Chi Yin came to question the primacy of archival sources after realizing the deliberate decisions behind what gets included or excluded.
Art
A Kurdish Artist’s Creative Resistance From Behind Bars
“Politics, war and oppression are a part of my life,” Fatoş İrwen explained of her current solo show, Exceptional Times.
Art
Walk With Me: A Performance Artist Adapts to the Pandemic
For two weeks last fall, performance artist Alisa Oleva walked with 33 different women in Istanbul; sometimes for 30 minutes, sometimes for three hours, but always from 1500 miles away.
Art
Revisiting Photography’s First Road Trip
Ten Turkish artists follow daguerreotypist Frédéric Auguste Antoine Goupil-Fesquet’s 180-year-old journey through the Eastern Mediterranean.
News
Turkish Arts Philanthropist Acquitted, Then Detained Again
Imprisoned since 2017, Osman Kavala was found not guilty of attempting to overthrow the government, but re-detained on new charges before he could even taste freedom.
Art
The Artist Walking Between Two Seas in Istanbul
For years, artist Serkan Taycan has documented a nearly 40-mile route through the outskirts of Istanbul, which traverses rarely seen landscapes. He facilitates walks through the area, now at risk due to a proposed shipping canal.
Art
Controversy in Istanbul Underscores Rising Political Pressures on Turkish Art Scene
A nationalist message from the head of the country’s biggest contemporary art fair stands in stark contrast to limits of expression on other segments of the Turkish art world.
Art
Weaving a New Future for a Traditional Turkish Craft
A small group of fine artists are bringing renewed attention to the practice of weaving by incorporating it into their artworks.
Art
Artists Fill Six-Story Istanbul House with 672 Hours of Performance Art
The house will become a research space and library in country where performance art remains underdeveloped, and many artists fear persecution.