Periodic Reporting for period 1 - ExiLives (Exiled Lives on the Stage: Turkey’s Artists at the Crossroads of New Aesthetic Practices and Political Subjectivities)
Período documentado: 2020-09-01 hasta 2022-08-31
Turkey's Gezi Park protests of 2013 and the attempted coup of 2016 led to an exodus of intellectuals, actors, cultural workers and authors. Taking the exilic experience as the core of its inquiry, the ExiLives project sets out to explore the contribution by exiled Kurdish and Turkish theatre practitioners to urgent cultural, political and aesthetic debates in Europe. The process of exile from Turkey is still in motion; hence, the urgency to map out and evaluate its influence. Exile Studies have predominantly focused on German-language exiles with only sporadic contributions of post-cold war Eastern Europe since the mid-1980s. Despite cultural historical discussions, theatre scholarship on migrant theatre, and the expansion of migration studies, Turkish exilic history of the last decades is largely disregarded. To address the issue, the project sets out to develop a new interdisciplinary methodology utilising ethnographic research and socio-aesthetic theatre analysis, informed by theatre and performance studies, cultural studies, political sociology, and exile studies.
Importance for Society
The 'silent exodus' of artists from Turkey is not widely known, nor are the societal and artistic effects of this migration in motion. The choice of particular urban contexts will shed new light on the different positions, influences and implementations of European policy in these local areas. Key is to help develop society's awareness around mapping, analysing and understanding positive societal responses to exilic art. Berlin as a ‘city of exiles’ is known by its vast history of labour migration and current attraction for refugees and migrants. By doing the research with the Free University Berlin as its base, the project aims to renew the urgency for historical and contemporary studies of exile within the German research context, innovating current debates of diaspora, exile and post-migration for the Turkish and Kurdish art communities.
Objectives
(1) To critically examine the current artistic reflections of artists in exile from Turkey through their artistic works and statements.
(2) To map the supportive networks, institutions, residencies and routes used by artists at risk from Turkey.
(3) To explore new political subjectivities through newly produced theatre plays and performances, and the ways in which the artists redefine the relationship between aesthetic action and affective politics.
(4) To remodel the analytical vocabulary surrounding the ‘exilic experience’ in order to discuss associated artistic practices.
Conclusions
A new, interdisciplinary ethnographic study has revealed substantial differences in the way support and cultural production of (self-)exiled artists and artists at risk are organized in Germany, UK, and the Netherlands, on different levels of state and city. A more in-depth policy report has contributed to the distribution of knowledge on the different support mechanisms, institutions and networks in Germany. The theatre arts were also analyzed and discussed for their model function of the new reality of exiles, where the workings of aesthetics and performative affects aim to impact cultural debates of community, conviviality, social justice, peace, dignity, and free speech. Through a series of public panel debates and a podcast, the awareness of the relevance of Turkey's artistic exodus on Europe's institutions and development of independent theatres, including archives, has been addressed.
Importance for Society
The 'silent exodus' of artists from Turkey is not widely known, nor are the societal and artistic effects of this migration in motion. The choice of particular urban contexts will shed new light on the different positions, influences and implementations of European policy in these local areas. Key is to help develop society's awareness around mapping, analysing and understanding positive societal responses to exilic art. Berlin as a ‘city of exiles’ is known by its vast history of labour migration and current attraction for refugees and migrants. By doing the research with the Free University Berlin as its base, the project aims to renew the urgency for historical and contemporary studies of exile within the German research context, innovating current debates of diaspora, exile and post-migration for the Turkish and Kurdish art communities.
Objectives
(1) To critically examine the current artistic reflections of artists in exile from Turkey through their artistic works and statements.
(2) To map the supportive networks, institutions, residencies and routes used by artists at risk from Turkey.
(3) To explore new political subjectivities through newly produced theatre plays and performances, and the ways in which the artists redefine the relationship between aesthetic action and affective politics.
(4) To remodel the analytical vocabulary surrounding the ‘exilic experience’ in order to discuss associated artistic practices.
Conclusions
A new, interdisciplinary ethnographic study has revealed substantial differences in the way support and cultural production of (self-)exiled artists and artists at risk are organized in Germany, UK, and the Netherlands, on different levels of state and city. A more in-depth policy report has contributed to the distribution of knowledge on the different support mechanisms, institutions and networks in Germany. The theatre arts were also analyzed and discussed for their model function of the new reality of exiles, where the workings of aesthetics and performative affects aim to impact cultural debates of community, conviviality, social justice, peace, dignity, and free speech. Through a series of public panel debates and a podcast, the awareness of the relevance of Turkey's artistic exodus on Europe's institutions and development of independent theatres, including archives, has been addressed.
The project included four phases. In the first phase, relevant literature to develop the interdisciplinary framework was processed; connections with interviewees and institutions were established; and the risk analysis and the university's ethical approval were achieved. The second phase included further training in the use of the MAXQDA software; the design of the data management and other deliverables regarding personal data transferal, incidental findings, and information on minimizing personal risks. A first round of interviews in Berlin were organized; the Exiled Lives podcast was launched; working papers and project presentations were prepared in different educational and research contexts; and a three-day writing workshop was organized for two book projects that archive critical theatre and other relevant themes in Turkey of the last decade. The third phase concerned more interviews in Amsterdam and London; engagement with Theater RAST and Arcola Theatre; an artist panel organized at Berlin's Engelnest and at the host institution; and a theatre workshop and a panel organized at London's Arcola. The fourth phase consisted of the wrap-up of the project and a final outreach event in the form of a five-day festival, comprising of panels, a network event, theatre and application writing workshops, a keynote, a benefit concert for the victims of the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, and an art exhibit.
As main results, the project produced: two edited journal issues; an edited book; two book manuscripts; four book proposals; two peer-reviewed articles; a policy report; two popularizing articles, one in German and English, the other in English and Turkish; a research article with the pilot program Open Research Europe; nine paper presentations; a podcast series; a project website; and videos of all public events. The research publications are available in open-access in the repository ‘Refubium’ of the Free University of Berlin, the repository 'Pure' of the University of Groningen, Zenodo (indexed in OpenAire), as well as the Fellow's own Academia.edu and project website, exiledlives.eu.
As main results, the project produced: two edited journal issues; an edited book; two book manuscripts; four book proposals; two peer-reviewed articles; a policy report; two popularizing articles, one in German and English, the other in English and Turkish; a research article with the pilot program Open Research Europe; nine paper presentations; a podcast series; a project website; and videos of all public events. The research publications are available in open-access in the repository ‘Refubium’ of the Free University of Berlin, the repository 'Pure' of the University of Groningen, Zenodo (indexed in OpenAire), as well as the Fellow's own Academia.edu and project website, exiledlives.eu.
The project has both socio-economic and wider societal impact. Socially, a policy report aimed at wider societal impact, helping cultural policymakers as well as governments to improve the support systems for artists at risk, whilst circulating accumulated knowledge on supportive systems to the wider public. Awareness and improvement of the cultural policies in cities may have further economic impact on incoming artists as well as the larger communities. The project also facilitated debates on decolonizing theatre archives, both in the institutions and private digital initiatives, which has socio-economic value in the long run of communities that have been long underrepresented in central institutions.
The project also aimed at impact through capacity building and societal debate. The video-records will keep a memory engendering further potential impact. The podcast aimed at raising consciousness of different aspects related to current exile and the artistic production around it. Capacity building activities like the two book projects with young Turkish scholars, Deniz Basar and Eylem Ejder, will also have further impact on Turkish and Kurdish (theatre) scholarship as well as contribute positively to the knowledge and memory of Turkish and Kurdish theatre in the last decade, despite Turkey's censorship. Throughout the project, artists in (self-)exile from Turkey have been given opportunities to connect with different audiences and explore new workshop formats. Such initiatives may have a larger scope than academic and individual career developments too, particularly for the Kurdish artists whose language and art have been too often censored in their own communities. The project nurtured further transnational perspectives and collaborations, including the support of the Dîwan international theatre academy.
The project also aimed at impact through capacity building and societal debate. The video-records will keep a memory engendering further potential impact. The podcast aimed at raising consciousness of different aspects related to current exile and the artistic production around it. Capacity building activities like the two book projects with young Turkish scholars, Deniz Basar and Eylem Ejder, will also have further impact on Turkish and Kurdish (theatre) scholarship as well as contribute positively to the knowledge and memory of Turkish and Kurdish theatre in the last decade, despite Turkey's censorship. Throughout the project, artists in (self-)exile from Turkey have been given opportunities to connect with different audiences and explore new workshop formats. Such initiatives may have a larger scope than academic and individual career developments too, particularly for the Kurdish artists whose language and art have been too often censored in their own communities. The project nurtured further transnational perspectives and collaborations, including the support of the Dîwan international theatre academy.