This paper explores how art was used as a form of protest during the Boğaziçi University resistance movement in Turkey. By analyzing specific creative expressions within the protest, it argues that art served not only as a medium of dissent but also as a form of reclaiming public and institutional space, and building collective memory. Through performance, visual interventions, and reinterpretation of traditional protest symbols, the Boğaziçi community challenged state authority and created alternative modes of political engagement.
The appointment of a government-aligned rector to Boğaziçi University in January 2021 ignited a wave of student protests in Turkey. Amid widespread police violence and media suppression, demonstrators employed art strategically as a non-violent, subversive tool. This paper examines how artistic interventions during the resistance redefined the space of the university, fostered solidarity, and offered new modes of political expression.
Drawing primarily on the occupation of the South Campus and protest events in early 2021, the paper analyzes the pivotal role art played and the alternative ways of protesting in the Boğaziçi University resistance while trying to shed light on the intentionality, and motivation behind the use of art and the impact of artistic expression on the trajectory of the movement along with the government’s reaction and strategies to break the resistance. It focuses particularly on the use of visual symbolism, participatory aesthetics, and performative protest in the Boğaziçi context, including actions like dressing statues, decorating fences, and curating open-air exhibitions.
The Boğaziçi University protests unfolded under intense political pressure, characterized by persistent police presence, spatial restriction, and legal intimidation. Police violence became a common feature of the protests, with law enforcement occupying university grounds and disrupting even the most peaceful gatherings. These acts of force not only endangered physical safety but also symbolized the state’s direct intervention into academic and civic life. At the same time, spatial control tactics were used to fragment the protest community—by restricting access to key locations such as the South Campus or fencing off familiar gathering spots, the authorities aimed to neutralize the symbolic power of the university as a site of resistance. These constraints made traditional forms of protest—such as marches, sit-ins, and open assemblies—logistically difficult and politically dangerous.
In the face of repression, a group of students turned to artistic practices as a way to circumvent physical and discursive limitations. Art enabled protesters to reclaim the occupied university space through symbolic and imaginative means. By curating spontaneous outdoor exhibitions, the resistance redefined the campus as a contested site of creativity and memory. Art thus became a mode of presence when physical presence was under threat, a way to continue protesting without confrontation and to assert ownership over institutional space.
Artistic expression became a tool to counter the state’s framing of the protests as illegitimate. Through satire, visual symbols, and performances, protesters and participants of the exhibiton and artists redefined the narrative on their own terms. Rather than engage in conventional ways, the movement used symbolic protest to craft a subversive, inclusive counter-narrative.
The Boğaziçi resistance demonstrates how art can serve as both a political tool and a means of survival under authoritarian pressure. By using artistic practices to redefine space, identity, and communication, the movement carved out a unique protest language that challenged state power and expanded the imaginative possibilities of resistance. This paper contributes to broader conversations on the intersection of aesthetics and activism in repressive contexts.