The exhibition ‘Forgetting the Past Is A Glamorous Lie’, scheduled to open at the Surp Kevork Church in Mardin on Saturday, October 15, was banned by the governor’s office at the last moment.
Curated by Deniz Özgültekin, the exhibition, in Özgültekin’s words, “takes a unifying approach while trying to explore the intersections of memory and peace.”
The exhibition featured works by Abdullah Güler, Büşra Çeğil, Eşref Yıldırım, Evrim Kavcar, Eylül Ersöz, Ferhat Özgür, İlayda Bekdemir, Mehmet Sait Tunç, Nejbir Erkol and Zafer Akşit. The exhibition was supported by the European Union Sivil Düşün Programme.
Özgültekin announced on his social media account that the exhibition was banned and said:
“One day before the opening, the Mardin Governorate announced that – although the necessary meetings had been held before – the exhibition would not be announced because the content and venue of the exhibition was the Surp Kevork Church.”
Özgültekin said that they hope the exhibition will be opened in another venue at a later date and that they will transparently share the obstacles of the governorship and the processes leading to this obstacle in the new exhibition to be opened.