I recently visited the Hagia Sophia for the first time after its conversion and felt overwhelming sadness.
Istanbul
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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.
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SALT Presents Climavore: Seasons Made to Drift by Cooking Sections
Exploring how to eat as humans change the climate, Climavore: Seasons Made to Drift is on view until August 22 at SALT Beyoğlu.
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Turkey Targets Osman Kavala’s Arts Organization in Unprecedented Lawsuit
Turkey’s Trade Ministry filed a lawsuit demanding the dissolution of Anadolu Kültür, an institution founded by Kavala in 2002.
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After Istanbul Students Detained for LGBTQ Posters, Protests Against Government Censorship Escalate
The initial protests started one month ago after President Erdoğan appointed one of his political allies as the school’s rector, inciting outrage over political motivations.
Posted inArt
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.
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Who Really Owns Hagia Sophia?
As the Turkish government announced that the Hagia Sophia will be converted back into a mosque, one of the primary responses worldwide has been to assert that the edifice constitutes “universal” heritage, that it belongs to all of us.
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Turkish Activist and Arts Philanthropist Osman Kavala Nears 1,000 Days in Prison
Kavala has been detained since 2017. Human rights activists have called for his release due to a lack of “facts, information, or evidence.”
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After 85 Years as a Museum, the Hagia Sophia Will Become a Mosque
Art historians and conservationists worry Turkish authorities might remove the centuries-old Byzantine mosaics that adorn it.
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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.
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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.
Posted inArt
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.