Zehra Dogan is changing the face of modern artivism. Not that far behind her, is a generation of artists that are bringing new opportunities to marginalised voices.
I recently came across an extremely powerful piece about Kurdish artivist, Zehra Dogan.
‘I am Zehra. I do not regret.’ These are the words that Turkish officials found in the cell Dogan was being kept in as she served her three-year sentence. It was 2019, and she was finishing her time — after being incarcerated for making 'terrorist propaganda' through her art and her all-female publication, JINHA.
Dogan wasn't given special materials to make her art in prison. She found a way nonetheless: smuggled newspaper and cloth, coffee, cigarette ash, and used a mix of urine, menstrual blood and vegetable pastes. Of her time there, she said: "I know that what I drew in prison causes reactions, raises questions. But all I did was represent a piece of what myself and my co-detainees experienced.”
And boy has she drawn herself some attention. Globally that is.
Now living a peaceful life in Europe, Dogan continues to recount her experiences — and proudly tells people that she is Kurdish, and nothing else.
Unfortunately, for most, being loud and proud about your identity — or using your talent to unveil the torture that happens outside of the media spotlight — is extremely dangerous. In some countries, like the UAE where freedom is made to look like it's granted, expression and providing a platform for the oppressed isn't actually that simple. A lot of content gets censored. A lot of people go missing. And artists are afraid to step out of their comfort zone.
Luckily, like anything in life, there are exceptions to the masses.
And lately, I've been so refreshed by the number of artists I've discovered living, or coming from, the Middle East and speaking up for human rights.
Here are three individuals/organisations that I recommend checking out:
This wave got me thinking. What would happen if we, here in the West, started overwhelming the media with coverage of these artists? What if we pushed back on censorship? Would we actually suffer? Or would it be them who suffered? Would the government do anything to stop this from happening?
Art is not always meant to be understood, but I believe artists should always have a chance to get their work in the public domain. It should have a chance to make an impact. Just the way journalists have the right to report on news that is the public right to know. Freedom of expression comes in all sorts of forms, and art is just as important as any of them.