LAVENDER LANGUAGES INSTITUTE: “Lubunya: Ekstravaganza”, political-erotic fortune-telling and performance, 20 January, 2023, 7pm

Lubunya: Ekstravaganza, a performative evening, hosted by curator Aylime Aslı Demir, activist and performer Metin Uzun, artist Must Kika, columnist Tanju Tariz and journalist and writer Yıldız Tar, invites to join a raki table with linguistic delights, traditional turkish belly dance and fortune - telling, dedicated to lubunca - a  secret language of LGBTQI+ community in Turkey.

Blending terms from multiple languages such as Romani, Greek, Arabic, Armenian and French, lubunca is an argot of approximately four hundred words, spoken by the köçeks and tellaks between the 17th and 18th centuries in Turkey and later adopted and developed by trans people. Throughout the evening raki and turkish snacks will be served while the guests are invited to join conversation and dance for the liberation potentials of lubunya culture. 

The language of the event: Lubunca, Turkish and English.

Free admission. The number of the participants is limited. The registration is required here.

Aylime Asli Demir is a feminist-queer activist, based in Ankara, Turkey. She is the director of Ankara Queer Art Program – Artist Residency, the coordinator of the cultural studies department at Kaos GL (Kaos Gay and Lesbian Cultural Research and Solidarity Association)  and editor in chief of the Queer series of NotaBene Publishing House.

Yıldız Tar is a journalist and LGBTI+ rights defender, currently the coordinator of Media and Communications Program at Kaos GL and chief editor of KaosGL.org.

Tanju Tariz works as a specialist in the fields of human rights, civil society, capacity building, HIV, aging studies, well-being, media monitoring, governance, social work, local governance, gender studies, and LGBTI rights. 

Metin Uzun is an LGBTQI activist, with the main focus on urban planning, poverty, elderliness, and gender equality in economic development. He is the general coordinator of the 17 May Association.

Mustafa Kinali is an artist, based in Istanbul, working mainly in the media of performance, dance, make-up and erotic textile. He acted in the short film “Free Fun” (2020) and “Pride for Nowness” (2022).