SALT Research Funds / A Look at Circus Culture Through the Case of Rıfat Telgezer: A Spatial Reading

A Look at Circus Culture Through the Case of Rıfat Telgezer: A Spatial Reading
Research conducted with Eda Özgener, supported by SALT Research Funds (2018).

This research examines the spatial culture of the traditional Turkish circus (cambazhane) through the life and practice of Rıfat Telgezer, a pivotal figure in the history of Turkish tightrope performance. Focusing on the period between the 1950s and 1970s, the project investigates how circus spaces were constructed, inhabited, travelled, and ultimately dismantled, considering them as performative environments shaped through the acts of building, performing, and disassembling.

Drawing on archival research, oral histories, photographs, newspapers, documentaries, and films, the study reconstructs the spatial organization and itineraries of Telgezer’s circus while exploring its role within everyday urban entertainment culture. Through mapping, visual documentation, and spatial analysis, the research reinterprets the cambazhane as a performance space, connecting this historical tradition with contemporary discussions on performativity, space, and exhibition practices.