As the LGBTQ+ community in Turkey is progressively pushed underground, the social memory of the movement is at risk of disappearing. In this respect, the exhibition “Dön-Dün Bak: Türkiye’de Trans Hareketinin Tarihi” (“Turn and See Back: Revisiting Trans Revolutions in Turkey”), organized by the Trans Pride Week Exhibition Collective in Istanbul, was intended as a source of inspiration for the LGBTQ+ movement by keeping alive the legacy of the struggle to claim our rights and be visible.

Held at Tütün Deposu, a tobacco warehouse-turned-cultural space, the exhibition was planned to be on view between June 26 and July 27. Foreseeing a likely intervention by the authorities, organizers only shared its location with people who reached out through confirmed connections for the first two weeks. A few days after the organizing collective openly shared the location, on July 11, the exhibition was shut down by the local district of Beyoğlu’s governorate on the grounds of “inciting the public to hatred and hostility” and “provocation.” The closure notification forbade any press statements on the issue.