Ode to Vrouwen van HTKB | Bir bilsen / You should know

Freedom, equality, sisterhood, 2024. With this work, Çiğdem Yüksel (1989) pays tribute to the HTKB (Hollanda Türkiye Kadınlar Birliği), the first association of women from Turkey in the Netherlands, established in 1975. The association’s members worked to defend the rights of women. 

Yüksel’s creation reflects on the collective visual memory of the Netherlands. She saw that first-generation women from Turkey were often stereotyped and lacked a layered image more in line with the women she knew. Yüksel therefore creates new images through installations that include photography, video, audio, and textiles.

The work is about Maviye Karaman, co-founder of the HTKB, and Hadiye Keşmer, a HTKB board member. The women of the HTKB organized a variety of activities, such as literacy classes, sewing classes, health education and bicycle lessons. The HTKB also stood up for their rights, such as the right to education in their own language and the independent right of residence – the right to reside in the Netherlands independent of your spouse's residence permit.  

The work is part of the project If Only You Knew (2024) in collaboration with Prospektor (producer) and Frederiek Biemans (co-curator).