Power Stories on Stage – 2
The second stage of the Power Stories journey, which began in 2023, echoed from the stage with these stories:
- One Day, the Wheel Will Turn (Devran Döner Gün Olur)
- Those Who Wait for the Light (Işığı Bekleyenler)
- Toward the Uphill Path (Yokuş Yol’a)
- Silent and Strong (Sessiz ile Güçlü)
- Mysterious Joyful Stories (Gizemli Mesut Öyküler)
- Mother, Hear My Voice (Anne Duy Sesimi)
One Day the Wheel Will Turn / Nevşehir
On 29 April 2024, in Nevşehir Ürgüp Hamleci Konağı, four storytellers inspired the audience with narratives of transformation and resistance under the theme “One Day the Tide Will Turn.”
Who did we listen to?
- Ayça Yaltı → Her struggle for ADHD visibility and search for solutions.
- Ayşe Yayla → The resistance of the 200-year-old Hamleci Mansion and community solidarity rooted in art and ecology.
- Keziban Gülen Göz → The journey of a woman dismissed from academia towards alternative education with Koan Academy.
- Özge Çağlar → A humanitarian worker’s testimony of the 6 February Earthquake, reminding us that fragility can be the greatest strength.
Those Who Wait for the Light / Adana & İzmir
On 28 June 2024, at Adana Taşköprü Guesthouse, and again on 14 September 2024 at İzmir Kültürpark Youth Theater, four women told stories of solidarity in the midst of inequality — “those who wait for the light.”
Who did we listen to?
- Muhal Leventeli İkikardeş → Her search for justice against class-based discrimination in her law practice.
- Özlem Arman → Once a sick child herself, she has continued for 23 years with the “Let’s Be Happy” project to support hospitalized children not only physically but emotionally.
- Filiz Sakallı → Rising again after the earthquake and the healing power of fairy tales.
- Derya Savita Altay → From invisible labor in domestic work to organized struggle against a male-dominated system.
Toward the Uphill Path / Diyarbakır
Held on 3 July 2024 at DİTAV in Diyarbakır, this event — named after a Turgut Uyar poem — hosted stories spanning Çanakkale to Van, Diyarbakır to Ankara, narrating exile, resistance, ecology, politics, and becoming a human rights defender within a conservative family.
Who did we listen to?
- Mustafa Alper Ülgen → The resistance story of ancestral seeds, local wheat, and bread.
- Umut Şener → From Melek’s “carnation apple” to ecocide, a story of hope and seed preservation as acts of resistance.
- Ruken Ay → From a conservative family to becoming a human rights lawyer, through the question “Can the subaltern speak?”
Music: Sewdalika & Süleyman Mirak
Exhibition: “The Journey of Wheat Beginning in Karacadağ”
Silent and Strong / Ankara
Can silence and strength coexist? On 19 July 2024 at Tosca Art Design in Ankara, storytellers shared how they constructed authentic and strong identities against the labels attached in childhood and youth.
Who did we listen to?
- Didem Yaran → The experience of growing up as a CODA (child of deaf adults), navigating language and belonging, step by step becoming a storyteller.
- İris Bilen → Healing boarding school traumas through theater and carrying this into her work with migrants as a social cohesion expert.
Mysterious Joyful Stories / İzmir & İstanbul
This Power Stories event, inspired by the narrators’ names, took place in two cities.
- 4 September 2024 – İzmir Darağaç Collective Audiodar: Stories ranged from alternative economies to courier rights struggles and refugee solidarity.
- 7 September 2024 – İstanbul Bostancı Playback Theater: In this unique performance, a mask designed by Ali Kanal of Darağaç Collective gave voice to unspoken and difficult-to-express themes, adding depth to the performance.
Who did we listen to?
- Gizem Bülbüller → Introducing a model of social solidarity, imagining how it could shift the rules of today’s system.
- Mesut Çeki → From the question “Who defends the rights of couriers?” to a heroic journey of solidarity.
- Gizem Öykü Başkaya → From a child who could not speak until the age of four to a passionate refugee rights lawyer.
Mother, Hear My Voice / Kütahya & İstanbul
On 17 October 2024 at BurHak Association in Kütahya and 19 October 2024 at Hestia Beyoğlu Cihangir in İstanbul, two mothers’ stories of resistance resonated on stage.
Who did we listen to?
- Eray Özgüner → Continuing the animal rights struggle in the footsteps of Burak Özgüner.
- Nimet Sarıkaya → Advocacy for the rights of hearing-impaired children.