The Invisible City of Alternative Theatre

Subtitle:Tactics, Collective Actions and Micro-Publics in Istanbul’s Cultural Economy

This paper aims to gain a better understanding of the ways in which cultural networks shape the urban spaces in which they operate, how this in turn is regulated by local government regimes, and the extent to which these cultural networks contribute to the city as a site of democracy. Focusing on the case of alternative theatre in Istanbul, Turkey, we show that these theatre spaces in the era of the Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi – AKP) are characterised by an ‘alternative’ position to a neoliberal project. This neoliberal project that is organized around the cultural economy imaginary of the AKP government, and which tends to make invisible these theatre spaces in the city. It is this very invisibility, we argue, that allows these alternative theatre networks to develop particular tactics, collective actions and micro-publics in the city, and to shape and democratise urban space.

Publication year:2016

Accessibility:Open