Unpredictable Activism in Times of Uncertainty

Abstract

This article aims to rethink the concept of unpredictability – one that natural law theoreticians such as Thomas Hobbes have in the past read through negative connotations of suspiciousness, uncertainty, contingency or anti-orderliness - through the lens of art and LGBTQI+ activism. Instead of demanding more certainty, security and authoritarianism in an era when we are confronted with radical uncertainties, this article aims to explore the potentialities of unpredictable activism; more specifically, it explores the unpredictable actions that Turkey-based LGBTI & Queer activists have staged in response to various attacks in the past few years. In so doing, it reads the concept of unpredictability in a positive way, and unveils its potential in the realm of political activism.

Keywords:

• Queer
• LGBTQI+
• Unpredictability
• Uncertain politics
• Right-wing populism
• LGBTQI+ activism in Turkey

Notes

1 The letter is available at : https://bianet.org/english/human-rights/170978-academics-we-will-not-be-a-party-to-this-crime [Accessed 16 December 2020].

2 Kaos GL was established in 1994 as a magazine. It became a registered community association in 2005. Today, Kaos GL is a non-governmental, non-profit organisation struggling against all types of discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. It carries out its activities through four main programmes: the Human Rights Programme, Academic and Cultural Studies, Media and Communication, and the Capacity-Building Programme.

3 Curated by Övül Durmuşoğlu and co-curated by Aylime Aslı Demir, Ahmet Öğüt, Alper Şen and Özge Çelikaslan, CANAN, Erdem Taşdelen, Erinç Seymen, Fulya Çetin, Gökçen Cabadan, Gözde İlkin, Istanbul Queer Art Collective, Melanie Bonajo, Metehan Özcan, Nilbar Güreş, Oktay İnce, Pauline Boudry and Renate Lorenz ve Susanne M. Winterling were featured in the exhibition that took place in İstanbul.

4 Curated by Kevser Güler, Derya Bayraktaroğlu ve Aylime Aslı Demir, participating artists include Yavuz Erkan, Ursula Mayer, Nilbar Güreş, Erinç Seymen and Uğur Engin Deniz, Daria Martin, Gökçe Yiğitel, Mary Maggic, İris Ergül, Katja Novitskova, Furkan Öztekin, Dynasty Handbag, Aykan Safoğlu, İz Öztat and Zişan, Kerem Ozan Bayraktar, Mariah Garnett, Umut Yıldırım, Yasemin Nur and collective Let the Good Times Roll.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Aylime Aslı Demir

Aylime Aslı Demir studied Public Administration, Political Science and Women’s Studies at the University of Gazi and University of Ankara. In recent years she has worked on curatorial and editorial projects centred around bringing various types of practices and knowledges together in publications and exhibitions, particularly focused on their politics and aesthetics. She has worked as Academic and Cultural Studies Department Coordinator at Kaos Gay and Lesbian Cultural Research and Solidarity Association (Kaos GL) since 2013. She is also the Director of the Ankara Queer Art Programme—Artist Residency. She currently lives in Ankara, Turkey.