Reshaping the Canvas: Feminist Art, Political Agency, and Epistemic Transformation

In her seminal work, “Art Strike” (2017), Yate McKee explores the intricate relationship between activism/occupying and contemporary art, highlighting a dual dynamic wherein artists simultaneously target the art system for action and use it as a platform to challenge prevailing norms. This dynamic mirrors the essence of feminist art, not only in Turkey but also across Europe, where feminist art intertwines seamlessly with resistance, offering potent expressions of justice claims, meaning making, and knowledge production. Drawing on interviews with fifteen prominent Turkish women artists, this paper examines how they transform the production and reception of art, challenging hegemonic norms to not only foster a more equitable society but also reshape cultural spaces, art institutions, museums, and galleries. Our analysis does not contend that art serves as a mere instrument for justice claims. Art possesses its unique methods, contexts, and aesthetic dimensions, functioning as an arena of dissensus that champions social advocacy, dismantles silences, and unravels power dynamics both within and beyond the art system. We approach the lives and works of these artists as political agents, contributing to the subversion of epistemic inequalities and feminism. Building upon Miranda Fricker's concept of epistemic injustice (2007) and Jose Medina’s notion of epistemic misrecognition (2018), we initially focus on the visibility of women in the art scene. Subsequently, we investigate their manifestation of epistemic resistance and their embodiment of political agency through artworks infused with empathy, reflecting women's lived experiences. This paper captures the resurgence of art in probing the politics of recognition, gender equality, and identity politics, shedding light on how feminist art serves as a dynamic force that challenges the status quo while forging new cultural landscapes and redefining the boundaries of political agency.