Istanbul exhibit celebrates voices and art of migrant women

Deep in the city center of Istanbul, the Women’s Library and Information Center Foundation hosted its Women's Memory of Migration Exhibition as part of “The Other’s Memory” Project.

Curated by Nilgün Kivircik, the project is designed to bring together the art of migrant women who have come to Turkey because of war, economic pressures or by choice. Featured in the gallery are artists Farah Trablsie, Maryam Mazrooei, Sara Shahzadeh, Sinur and Walaa Tarkaji.

The Women’s Library was founded in 1990 by five women to uplift the voices of migrant women who weren’t represented in Turkish media. For Füsun Ertuğ, one of the original founders of the library, it was integral to preserve the work of women because of how male-dominated the migrant voices were at the time.

“We try to collect information about all of the literature about women, art of the women and all the periodicals, visual arts, anything you can imagine,” Ertuğ said. “We realize that this movement is a continuous work until we can become equal again.”

One of the first pieces one display at the exhibit is a map with pieces of string that tie people to different countries on the map. For Farah Trablsie, the creator of the piece, it represents how people can come together to find common ground despite being from different parts of the world.

A common theme throughout the art pieces in the gallery is the subversion of tropes and stereotypes people may have about migrants. By creating this subversive art that illustrates the struggles of migrant women, the featured artists are able to humanize those who flee to Turkey to escape conflict in their home countries.

“We try to [help Turkish people understand] how difficult it is to be a migrant, how difficult it is to survive. Nobody wants to live in another country, nobody wants to go into this kind of struggle,” Ertuğ said.

Despite the rise of nationalist rhetoric in politics in Turkey and other places in the world, Ertuğ argues that there will always be a place for migrants to express their voices.

“We [will] always find new spaces. They are all in danger, of course, unless you fight back and really try to defend all your [artistic] spaces,” Ertuğ said.