History Otherwise: Ottoman Socialist Hilmi and Ottoman Women’s Rights Defender Nuriye, 2019

For the Arteast 2000+ collection, Ahmet Öğüt donated the work History Otherwise: Ottoman Socialist Hilmi and Ottoman Women’s Rights Defender Nuriye, which revives forgotten layers of Ottoman history. The large-scale work – a rug – depicts Hüseyin Hilmi Bey, an Ottoman socialist, and Nuriye Ulviye Mevlan Civelek, a women’s rights pioneer, and their contributions to the socialist and feminist movements of their time. The figures are represented in an Ottoman-style living room, situated in a pit as if within an archaeological excavation site. Öğüt does not reconstruct history literally, but explores it almost archaeologically, revealing stories that official historical narratives often overlook.

Ahmet Öğüt is a contemporary artist exploring social, political and historical themes in his works, which often combine art and activism, bringing to light the overlooked stories and challenges of contemporary society and encouraging reflection on justice, equality and memory. He creates installations, videos, performances and socially engaged projects that have been presented at many international biennials, galleries and museums. The donated work was included in the exhibition Translated into Socialism (2025, +MSUM), which involved the collaboration of curator Merve Elveren and researchers Sezgin Boynik and Tevfik Rada.