Beyoğlu Governor bans exhibit on history of Turkey’s trans movement

The district governor of Istanbul’s cultural hub Beyoğlu has banned the “Turn and See Back: Revisiting Trans Revolutions in Turkey” exhibition by the 10th Trans Pride Week Exhibition Collective and demanded its immediate shutdown. The organizers stated they would battle the ruling in court.

Friday July 12 2024 10:07 pm

An image from the now-closed exhibit includes a banner for the Trans Pride March of 2023, and various newspaper clippings.

Duvar English

The district governorate of Beyoğlu in Istanbul on July 11 banned the exhibition “Turn and See Back: Revisiting Trans Revolutions in Turkey,” put on by the 10th Trans Pride Week Exhibition Collective.

The art center Depo announced that the exhibition was banned on their social media account.

Accordingly, the center was forced to immediately close the exhibition, which would be open for visits until July 27.

The exhibition “Turn and See Back: Revisiting Trans Revolutions in Turkey” by the 10th Trans Pride Week Exhibition Collective was banned on Thursday, July 11 with a notice issued to Depo by the Beyoğlu District Governorate. pic.twitter.com/allwaSvVBj
— Depo (@depo_istanbul) July 11, 2024

“As the Depo team, we will appeal this ban through legal channels and share updates on the judicial process with the public in the coming days," the announcement concluded.

The 10th Istanbul Trans Pride Week initiative made a statement regarding the banned exhibition on its X account.

DÖN-DÜN-BAK Türkiye’de Trans Hareketinin Tarihi sergimiz yasaklandı pic.twitter.com/AHDhmFOBeK
— 10. İstanbul Trans Onur Haftası (@tprideistanbul) July 11, 2024

"Our meticulously curated archival exhibition 'Turn-Back: The History of the Trans Movement in Turkey,' which was scheduled to be open for visits from June 26 to July 27 at the Tobacco Warehouse as part of the 10th Trans Pride Week events, was banned today around 3:00 PM by a notification from the Beyoğlu District Governor's Office.”

The statement continued, “The police instructed that all materials in the exhibition be collected, the exhibition be closed, and the related content on social media and the website be removed. The police left the venue only after confirming these actions were taken. The notification also stated that even press statements on this matter were prohibited.”

According to a notification briefly shown to the art center employees, the district governorship cited “inciting hatred and hostility among the public” and “provocation” as reasons for the exhibition's closure.

“This exhibition has demonstrated that since the 1980s, trans individuals have managed to persist through all pressures. 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.”

The exhibition included action footage, press statements, banners, posters, various publications, songs, films, and theater plays that displayed the history of the trans movement in Turkey which goes back over 40 years.

“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!”

The initiative called upon human rights defenders, civil society organizations, media workers, and the art community to stand in solidarity with them against the illegal ban.

“Whoever wants to exhibit the works from our exhibition in their gallery, shop, street, or home, please reach out to us. Because you know that removing our pictures from the walls cannot erase our trans experiences or existence. You cannot remove our history from the history of this land, Turn Back and See!"