Freedom Talk@SpeakUp

Safe Havens Freedom Talks presented a Freedom Talks conversation at Speak Up livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Tuesday 14 June 2022 at 8:30 a.m. EDT (New York, UTC -7) / 12:30 p.m. UTC / 2:30 p.m. CEST (Stockholm, UTC +2) / 3:30 p.m. TRT (Istanbul, UTC +3).

After three talks specifically on the discussions about different topics related to Afghanistan with various participants, Safe Havens Freedom Talks (SH|FT) presents the next event focusing on the situation of artistic freedom and public art in Turkey. In conversation with three creatives in the field, this event will take place as a part of the Freedom Talks series.

Moderated by Sumru Tamer (editor at Speak Up Platform), two artists, İzinsiz (guerilla artist) and Kubilay Mutlu (founding member of the Association of Street Artists in İzmir and a PhD candidate in ethnomusicology at Dokuz Eylül University) share personal experiences while Dr Sonay Ban (academic and an editor at Speak Up Platform) talks about the overall situation and obstacles artists face in Turkey in exercising their right to freedom of artistic expression. This event is produced in collaboration with Speak Up Platform.

In the panel, the guests talk about the practice of doing art in the public sphere, the freedoms and restrictions that await artists in public spaces, how the recent constraints in Turkey’s public sphere reflect on the arts and cultural industries, and how artists are being restrained and how they are resisting these constraints. Kubilay Mutlu talks about the problems and obstacles experienced by artists, especially in İzmir, and how he struggled against these difficulties, while “İzinsiz” speaks about his “guerrilla art” practice and the legal processes and troubles he faced due to his works. Sonay Ban, on the other hand, draws a theoretical framework regarding the freedom of artistic expression, cites cases of censorship and self-censorship, and presents an assessment of the situation in different fields of art.

About Speak Up Platform
SPEAK UP is a platform set up to stand against restrictions to freedom of expression such as censorship, self-censorship, bans, blocking, isolation, defamation, or social lynching that associations and individuals active in cultural life, the arts, or the media are subjected to. It aims to empower everyone in Turkey whose freedom of expression is threatened and who values the right to obtain news and information, the arts, literature—in short, any form of expression—to fight against censorship. For more information, the website can be checked.

About Freedom Talks
Safe Havens – Freedom Talks series is closely connected to the annual global Safe Havens conference. The Freedom Talks series is focused on issues regarding threats towards artistic freedom, free press, and intangible heritage. Guests in the Freedom Talks series are highly knowledgeable and prolific actors in the global arts rights justice sector—fighting for artistic freedom. The Freedom Talks aim to share space and broaden the narrative of who can take center stage by lending the brand to different organizations within the sector. The talks are presented in—or translated to—English. The talks can be watched through our website, our Facebook page, and through our partner HowlRound, where previous events are also archived.

The Participants @SpeakUp

İzinsiz is a guerilla artist.

Kubilay Mutlu was born in 1977. He is a founding member of the Association of Street Artists (Sokak Sanatçıları Derneği) and plays music with the Street Orchestra in İzmir. He is a PhD student in ethnomusicology at Dokuz Eylül University. His research interests include the music industry and hegemony. He is Nisbet’s lover and Ekin’s father.

Sonay Ban is an editor at Susma/Speak Up Platform in Turkey. She holds a PhD degree in cultural and visual anthropology from Temple University, United States. Her research investigates the history of film censorship in Turkey, in particular multiple forms and mechanisms of censorship from the 2000s onwards.

Sumru Tamer is an editor at Susma/Speak Up Platform in Turkey. She mainly works in the field of artistic freedom and the free press. She is also interested in music and human rights, as well as the field of sociology.

*The event is organized by the independent international NGO Safe Havens Freedom Talks (SH|FT), through collaborations within the global arts rights justice sector, and with Safemuse graciously supporting as its mentoring organization in the start-up period. SH|FT is supported by the Swedish Arts Council under the Programme for Artistic Freedom funded by Sida, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, and the Freedom Talks are sponsored by the Swedish Institute. The exhibition and platform project is sponsored by the Swedish Postcode Foundation.

About HowlRound TV

HowlRound TV is a global, commons-based, peer-produced, open-access livestreaming and video archive project stewarded by the nonprofit HowlRound. HowlRound TV is a free and shared resource for live conversations and performances relevant to the world’s performing-arts and cultural fields. Its mission is to break geographic isolation, promote resource sharing, and develop our knowledge commons collectively. Anyone can participate in a community of peer organizations revolutionizing the flow of information, knowledge, and access in our field by becoming a producer and co-producing with us. Learn more by going to our participate page. For any other queries, email [email protected] or call Vijay Mathew at +1 917.686.3185 Signal. View the video archive of past events.