Art and Racism: Representations of Racism in Post-2001 Europe

Abstract

This article examines the reflections of racism in European art after 2001. After the September 11, 2001 attacks, prejudice and discriminatory discourses, which have risen rapidly around the world, have had a profound impact on art and cultural production in Europe. On the one hand, works of art have functioned as a tool that reflects the fears and prejudices in the subconscious of societies, and on the other hand, they have become a platform for a critical reckoning with these prejudices. Within the scope of the study, different branches of art such as TV series, cinema, literature and caricature were examined and how the works produced in these fields are associated with social discrimination were analyzed. The research emphasizes the potential of art as an ideological and political tool to both reproduce marginalizing discourses and to question these discourses. Islamophobic representations of Muslim communities, anti-immigrant discourses and the impact of discriminatory policies on cultural production constitute the main axis of discussion in the article. Understanding the dual role of art in both making discrimination and prejudice visible and combating these social problems is critical for understanding Europe's social transformations in the 21st century. In this context, the study focuses on how racism is reflected in the artworks of European art after 2001 and examines this reflection in depth through various examples.