Art, Memory Work, and State Violence – Panel Discussion with Banu Karaca, Stellan Veloce & Tunay Önder

On January 13, 2026, the panel discussion Art, Memory Work, and State Violence took place at Depo in Istanbul, featuring Tarabya Cultural Academy fellows Stellan Veloce and Tunay Önder alongside cultural studies scholar Banu Karaca. The event brought together perspectives from academia and artistic practice to reflect on the interrelations between art, political memory, and state violence in Germany and Türkiye.

The discussion was anchored in Karaca’s book The National Frame: Art and State Violence in Turkey and Germany (2021), which examines, through numerous examples from Berlin and Istanbul, the close entanglement of modern and contemporary art with nation-state power structures. For the two fellows, the book served as an important impulse to critically reflect on their own experiences during their stay in Istanbul.

Historical as well as contemporary cases of censorship, repression, and political interference in cultural production were addressed. Drawing on concrete examples, the participants discussed how power relations determine which voices gain visibility and which remain marginalized.

The conversation was complemented by a musical performance by Stellan Veloce inspired by Karaca’s work and a literary contribution by Tunay Önder, which deepened the thematic questions on an artistic level.

The panel opened up a nuanced exchange on agency, institutional dependencies, and resistant practices within the art and cultural scenes of both countries, highlighting how closely artistic production is intertwined with social and political frameworks.