SUBSCRIBE E-NEWSLETTER
ABOUT DUMPLING POST

Hrant Dink Foundation (HDF) has been carrying out activities on the axis of social memory and confronting the past in order to encourage looking at history from different perspectives since its establishment.

Our international conferences series aiming to expand the understanding of the social, economic, socio-political, and cultural changes experienced in different cities of Anatolia in the 19th and 20th centuries and to disseminate current research on this subject within the academic world has become exemplary with its scientific quality.

After shedding light on the histories of the cities of Ankara, Adana, Van, Diyarbakır, Mardin, and İzmir, the Foundation had planned to continue its conferences series with Kayseri in 2019, but faced a ban for the first time. The story of Dumpling Post originates with this ban.

The international scientific committee of the conference, which was to be held in Kayseri on October 18-19, 2019, elected the papers of 27 scholars from different cities in Turkey, as well as from the United States, France, Greece, and Armenia, and invited them to Turkey. However, the Kayseri governorate barred Kayseri from hosting this scientific conference. The Foundation then decided to hold ‘The Social, Cultural and Economic History of Kayseri and the Region’ at ‘its home’: the Anarad Hığutyun Building in Istanbul, where it has been operating since 2015. All preparations were completed, the conference was announced to the public, and the academics who would present their work had arrived in Istanbul when the Şişli district governorate notified the Foundation that the conference was banned on October 17 at 17.08, one day before it was due to begin.

This ban indicated how far the civil-society space had become restricted in recent years. It was the first time the Foundation, which has been operating for 12 years without any hindrance, faced a ban and an intervention. It was a black mark on our institutional history and the conscience of Turkey’s civil society.

Our first reaction was to put forth our reaction to this, release a press statement and make an announcement, and, in fact, we did inform the public of our reaction. Then we asked ourselves the following questions: How effective is responding with a written statement in today’s world? And how can we build solidarity? In the face of this prohibition, how can we heal the despair we find ourselves in?

As we weighed these questions, we came up with idea for an action we had never done before. Since we couldn’t go to Kayseri and we couldn’t hold a scientific conference about Kayseri in Istanbul, we needed to find different ways to talk about Kayseri. As we tried to establish this path, the famous dish of the region, Kayseri mantı, became our guide.

With our collective decision to hold the ‘Kayseri Dumpling Festival’, the Foundation’s entire team undertook organising an event far different than holding a scientific conference. We found ourselves buying rolling pins, pots, trays, and tablecloths, kilos of flour and minced meat, researching the history of dumplings and compiling the dish’s varieties. Thanks to the extraordinary effort and creativity of our team and the participation of hundreds of people, we organised the festival in seven days. Dozens of people rolled out the dough together, kneaded it, folded and cooked it. In a special dumpling workshop for children, children kneaded dough and made dumplings for the first time. With the moderation of Levon Bağış, a delicious conversation about Kayseri food took place with the participation of Yıldız Horata, Leyla Kılıç, Takuhi Tovmasyan, and Salpi Ghazarian. Folk songs from the Kayseri and Cappadocia regions brightened our sad hearts, and we concluded our day in a joyful fashion.

More than 500 people attended the festival. They came not just to make dumplings, eat, and listen to speeches, but to show solidarity with us and to take a stance against the restrictions imposed on civil society. Collectively, we eased the lumps in our throat with the dumplings we cooked and ate. We became stronger through solidarity by gathering under the umbrella of dumplings against this anti-democratic ban.

The historical background of the Dumpling Post that you are reading originates with this ban and the spirit of solidarity that emerged with the Kayseri Dumpling Festival. We set out to hold a conference with the dream of pluralism, and we met and healed in the pluralism of dumplings at the festival.

We hope that the inspiring original content of the Dumpling Post, which will also function as a platform of solidarity against censorship, prohibitions, and the shrinking of the civil society space, will leave a memorable flavor in your mind and heart. Here’s to expanding solidarity together!

Dumpling Post is published within the scope of the 17th Istanbul Biennial organised by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV),
and conceived with the collaboration of the Istanbul Biennial,
Hrant Dink Foundation and 23.5 Hrant Dink Site of Memory.

EDITORIAL MANAGEMENT

HRANT DINK FOUNDATION AND 23.5 HRANT DINK SITE OF MEMORY

PROJECT COORDINATOR

NESLİHAN KOYUNCU BALİ

EDITOR

ERDEM İLGİ AKTER

23.5 HRANT DINK SITE OF MEMORY PROJECT COORDINATOR

ASLI YOLCU SAĞLAM


TRANSLATION

TURKISH-ENGLISH

SEVDA AKYÜZ, MİLENA BÜYÜM, KATE FERGUSON, IRAZCA GERAY, PETER KLEMPNER, AYLA JEAN YACKLEY, JANINE SU, AYÇA G. TÜRKOĞLU, MERVE ÜNSAL

ENGLISH TURKISH

ÖZGÜR GÖKMEN, EMRAH IRZIK

GREEK-ENGLISH

ALTUĞ YILMAZ

ENGLISH COPYEDITING

LİZ ERÇEVİK AMADO, DAVID HILL


VOICE-OVER

SHAKEH MAJOR TCHILINGIRIAN


DESIGN CONSULTANT

EMRE ÇIKINOĞLU

GRAPHIC DESIGN AND APPLICATION

RUSLAN ABASOV

WEB DEVELOPMENT

KAYHAN YALINKILIÇ


THANKS TO

NEBAHAT AKKOÇ, ÖMÜR BALİ, EYLÜL BELDEN, BAŞAK CAN, DELAL DİNK,
SERA DİNK, CEREN ERDEM, BENGİSU GÜLSEN, NAYAT KARAKÖSE,
SHAKEH MAJOR TCHILINGIRIAN, KENAN ÖZCAN, NİLSU ÖZTÜRK, ALARA SAMANCIOĞLU,
ASLICAN TÜTER, DİDEM KAYNAK, ZEYNEP SUNGUR KAYI, DENİZ EZGİ SÜREK, TALİN SÜZME, ATOM ŞAŞKAL, ZEYNEP TAŞKIN, ALTUĞ YILMAZ

This newspaper is published within the scope of the 17th Istanbul Biennial, organised by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV) with the support of Chrest Foundation, Heinrich Böll Foundation Turkey Representation and SAHA–Supporting Contemporary Art from Turkey. The views and opinions expressed in this newspaper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of İKSV.

CONTACT US

yirmiucbucuk@hrantdink.org
hrantdink.org


23.5 Hrant Dink Site of Memory
Halaskargazi Caddesi,
Sebat Apartmanı, No: 74/1
Osmanbey 34371 Şişli,
İstanbul, Türkiye


P. +90 212 240 33 65


SUBSCRIBE E-NEWSLETTER