Semiha Berksoy was not only Turkey’s first female opera singer and star of the country’s first sound film, but also a well-known poet, costume designer and visual artist. Thanks to a scholarship awarded by the Turkish government in 1936, Berksoy studied at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin and established close ties to Germany; it was here that she became the first Turkish prima donna to perform on a European stage, and where she later exhibited her work at galleries such as Haus am Lützowplatz and the Gropius-Bau. In the first retrospective of Berksoy in Germany, the Hamburger Bahnhof is presenting more than 80 of her paintings, works on paper, archival materials and film and sound recordings, exploring the people, places and experiences that shaped her six-decade career (6 December–11 May 2025).
Find out more from the Hamburger Bahnhof’s website.
Preview below | View Apollo’s Art Diary
My Mother Playing the Oud (1958), Semiha Berksoy. Courtesy Estate of Semiha Berksoy and GALERIST
Sound (1970), Semiha Berksoy. Courtesy Estate of Semiha Berksoy and GALERIST
Standing (Self-Portrait) (1968), Semiha Berksoy. Courtesy and © Estate of Semiha Berksoy and GALERIST