More than a Bundle Story: An Interview with Emel Sevinç

In this conversation recorded during the 34th BATAS Spring Symposium in collaboration with Contemporary Turkish Studies at LSE (June 7, 2025), Elif Toker-Turnalar speaks with Emel Sevinç, a London-based writer, project curator, and practitioner, about her compelling project and display "More than a Bundle Story."

Sevinç's work explores the complex terrain of diaspora identity, examining how Turkish communities from the 1960s onwards have navigated questions of belonging and cultural transmission in the UK. This interview explores how Sevinç worked with the stories of people, particularly those who immigrated from Turkey and Cyprus, who faced challenges adapting to a new country and culture while working in the textile industry under difficult conditions. The "More than a Bundle Story" display at Hackney Museum (17 June – 16 August 2025) captures how these individuals, through shared experiences and community, built families and established roots in their new homeland.

The conversation was part of the symposium's broader exploration of "Turkish Politics and Society in Flux," examining how contemporary Turkish identity is shaped by transnational dynamics and the ongoing experiences of displacement and belonging. Sevinç's project particularly highlights the experiences and voices of women, whose stories form the heart of this exploration of hardship and resilience, loss and triumph within the Turkish diaspora.

More about this event

Contemporary Turkish Studies focuses on the politics and economy of Türkiye and its relations with the rest of Europe. The programme aims to promote a deeper understanding of contemporary Türkiye through interdisciplinary and critical research, teaching and related public activities.

The British Association for Turkish Area Studies (@BATAStweets) aims to bring together and provide a forum for people interested in and keen to know more about Turkish life, society, history, language and culture. It is the only organisation in the United Kingdom dedicated to such an aim which it seeks to achieve by means of lectures, symposia, the sponsorship of publications and the distribution free to members of a substantial biannual journal, the Turkish Area Studies Review.

Hashtag for this event: #LSETürkiye

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LSE holds a wide range of events, covering many of the most controversial issues of the day, and speakers at our events may express views that cause offence. The views expressed by speakers at LSE events do not reflect the position or views of the London School of Economics and Political Science.