Turkish artists, intellectuals, and academics founded numerous associations in West Berlin throughout the 1970s and 80s, such as the German-Turkish Society and the Türkenzentrum e.V. The central objectives of these institutions were to promote Turkish culture beyond ethnic folklore, formulate common interests, and establish new collaborations. Ela Gezen focuses on multi-genre exhibits co-organized by the Turkish Association of Academics and Artists, which she frames as key to the formation of a Turkish public sphere in West Berlin and to political debates about integration. She also addresses how we may relate cultural activities in the early phase of Turkish migration to cultural practices and interventions today.

Photo: Jürgen Henschel, deutsch-türkischen Silvesterfete, Künstlerhaus Bethanien, December 31, 1975. Courtesy FHXB Museum, Berlin-Kreuzberg / Friedrichshain