Esma Yiğitoğlu

Esma Yiğitoğlu (b. 1944, Zincidere, Türkiye; d. 2009, Rotterdam) is known for her sculptures, drawings, and paintings using natural materials such as paper pulp, loam, and terracotta. Her works are steeped in the traditions of Sufism and architecture, drawing inspiration from symbols such as amulets, graves, minarets, and mosques. She moved to the Netherlands in 1961 and studied at Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam between 1961 and 1966. Her active cultural involvement, particularly related to Turkish women, manifest in her organizing sewing lessons for Turkish women to mobilize them, which led to the creation of the Turkish Cultural Center for Women in Rotterdam. She also organized exhibitions about Turkish culture for municipal institutions and combatted the illiteracy of Turkish women, playing a crucial role in their emancipation within migrant families living in Rotterdam. Her work has been featured in publications including Vanuit Turkije en Marokko (exh. cat., Stedelijk Museum Schiedam, 1980), and shown in Türkiye and in the Netherlands at venues such as TENT Rotterdam in 2016 and Stedelijk Museum Schiedam in 1980.