Forms of Appearance / Disappearance: Material Representations of Displaced Communities in Urban Public Space

2023-01-01
Aral, Hacer Ela
Charif, Reem
Altay Kaya, Deniz
This chapter highlights urban public space as a medium that portrays cultural encounters and concomitantly observable ways of acculturation between displaced and host communities. In this scope, the study examines the visibility in the Önder neighborhood hosting the highest population of Syrian displaced people in Ankara through an analysis of material representations. The elements and mediums that construct the displaced community’s visibility in relation to their socio-spatial and socio-cultural practices are elaborated through an analytical reading of video pieces taken from public spaces. The expressions in the videos show tensions and contradictions, both intentional and coincidental, in the negotiations of visibility in the public realm. While the video is primarily focused on the tactics employed by the displaced community, it inherently shows fragments of those employed by the locals in addition to strategies employed by the authorities, which reveal the political layers in the contested territories of the city.
Citation Formats
H. E. Aral, R. Charif, and D. Altay Kaya, Forms of Appearance / Disappearance: Material Representations of Displaced Communities in Urban Public Space. 2023.