'The Aesthetics of Protest' project examined shared images of everyday life during the Gezi Park protests. Image: Chris Vena/Flickr. Some rights reserved.
This article is part of Right to Protest, a partnership project with human rights organisations CELS and INCLO, with support from the ACLU, examining the power of protest and its fundamental role in democratic society.
The ‘Aesthetics of Protest’ project explores visual culture and communication during the Gezi Park protests in Istanbul in May and June 2013. The protests started as a reaction to attempts to build a shopping mall and military barracks in Gezi Park and galvanised opponents who wanted to challenge gentrification and increasingly neoliberal reforms as well as creeping conservatism and authoritarianism in Turkish society. It is estimated that 2.5 million people participated in the protests in Istanbul, across Turkey and around the world. Protestors occupied the park, exchanging ideas, expressing solidarity, and building community, often in the face of police repression and tear gas. Eleven people died during the protests.
