Investigation launched against Turkish modern art museum over 'LGBT propaganda'

Duvar English

ESkişehir Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism has opened an investigation into the exhibition titled "Mourning and Pleasure" at the Odunpazarı Modern Museum (OMM) after pro-government media and anti-LGBTI+ groups launched a hate campaign about it. 

Various social media users targeted the exhibition, which features works from various disciplines ranging from painting to photography, sculpture, and and claimed that artists made "LGBT propaganda.” 

Pro-government daily Sabah claimed that “children were shown works on homosexuality and transgenderism without any age limit.” 

The OMM, which hosted the exhibition scheduled to end on July 30, announced the temporary closure of the Museum from July 18 due to "preparations for the new exhibition."

The museum’s catalog described the exhibition, “Dealing with the limits and subtleties of the contemporary human body, its role within the complex web of past and present as well as its ethical and social parameters, the exhibition holds a mirror to the changing values ​​and norms in society through the human vessel.”

Radical Islamists on July 9 attempted to attack an art exhibition displayed at the ArtIstanbul Feshane opened by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB), claiming it was promoting “LGBTI+ and socialism propaganda.”

Turkish authorities have been implementing a de facto ban on “LGBTI+ symbols and themes” even though there is no official law against them over the past years. While the pride marches have been attacked by the police, nearly all indoor events has been banned in 2023.