What's on in Istanbul (bonus Pride edition)
A regular roundup of recommended art and cultural offerings
This year’s Pride Month marks a decade since the Istanbul Pride March was last allowed to proceed unobstructed. That event in June 2014 (pictured above) was a joyous, defiant, colorful and exuberantly memorable afternoon, with rainbow-bedecked, sign-hoisting, chanting and singing crowds filling İstiklal Caddesi for blocks. The following year, participants were forcefully dispersed by police with water cannons and rubber bullets and things haven’t been the same since.
In recent years, government bans on the Pride march have been extended to block Queer Olympix sporting events, a Pride Week picnic, film screenings, and even an English-language tea gathering amid growing anti-gay rhetoric in Turkey, with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan saying that “LGBTI is a poison injected into the institution of the family” in a pre-election speech last year.
Istanbul’s LGBTQI+ community remains uncowed, with activists vowing to take to the streets again this Sunday despite what’s sure to be a heavy-handed police presence. (Metal police barriers were already being stockpiled in the streets around Taksim Square on Friday night.) Organizers have however warned potential foreign participants of the risk of detention or deportation after a registered Iranian refugee and other non-Turkish citizens were detained by police in 2023.
On the brighter side, the grassroots organization Lambdaistanbul was successfully able to crowd-fund enough money to reopen their LGBTQI+ cultural center after losing their previous space to gentrification. And queer artists and cultural workers continue creating work and demanding their voice be heard despite increased pressure.
Here’s a freer Pride for all 🏳️🌈 🏳️🌈 🏳️🌈
EVENTS & EXHIBITIONS
Koli Market – Artworks and handmade products by queer artists and craftspeople for sale along with vegan snacks in this pop-up market on the middle floor and terrace of Ziba Pub, hosted by the Istanbul-based queer arts & music initiative Queer Waves. 29 June from 2-7pm at Akansu Sokak No:10 in Tomtom, Beyoğlu. TODAY!
'Through the Window – Online exhibition bringing together queer artists, thinkers, and nightlife workers from Turkey, the Netherlands, and beyond has just launched its fifth edition.
i’m not afraid of anything – Screenings of the classic films The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and Hedwig and the Angry Inch at the Pera Museum on 30 June, 6 July and 10 July. Meşrutiyet Caddesi No:65, Beyoğlu.
‘Body Fragments’ – Group exhibition of artists who embrace identities considered “other,” focusing on issues such as gender roles and the transformation of the body into a site of resistance against social norms. To 13 July at Pilot Gallery (Sıraselviler Caddesi No:83/2, Beyoğlu), open Tue-Sat noon to 6pm.
‘A Crack We Sprout Through’ – Artists Leman Sevda Darıcıoğlu, Ndayé Kouagon, and Elif Saydam engage with concepts like identity politics, safe spaces, reappropriation, and camp in this thought-provoking gallery exhibition. To 20 July at Sanatorium (Mumhane Caddesi No:67/A, Karaköy), open Tue-Sat noon to 7pm, Sun noon to 5pm.
RECOMMENDED READS (etc.)
Nightlife as Sustained Resistance in Istanbul – The night has served as a beacon of resistance, a bastion of freedom and hedonism, not least for the city’s queer community which has been strongly affected by the sociopolitical and economic status quo. By Ulya Soley and Yelta Köm for CTM Magazine.
Istanbul’s Queer Techno Scene Spotlighted in New Documentary, Movement – Movement focuses on communities and the fight to preserve Istanbul's safe spaces. By Jamaal Johnson for Mixmag. 🎥 Watch the short documentary on YouTube.
Serkan Görkemli on Turkey’s Queer Past and Present – Sweet Tooth, a short story collection, follows the hard choices his characters make while seeking love and acceptance. By Roohi Choudhry for Electric Literature.