Conversation with Tomur Atagök, Istanbul, 2005

In this conversation, Tomur Atagök reflects on her feminist approach to art and institutional work. She introduces herself not only as an artist but also as a writer, researcher, curator, and educator. “Some of my friends tell me that I spend too much time in organizing, making exhibitions.” But traditional forms like painting or sculpture, she explains, are insufficient to fully express her concerns—especially as a woman artist.

Atagök recalls studying at UC Berkeley during the transformative civil rights and student movements of the 1960s, which shaped her political and feminist awareness. Returning to Turkey in 1973, she observed that many significant works in Turkish art history were by women, prompting her to research and lecture on their contributions. Her curatorial work at the Mimar Sinan University Museum of Painting and Sculpture, along with her involvement in civic groups, enabled her to support women artists without facing institutional resistance. “But I have to say that although I work for the Turkish women artists…I don’t think we have established a close relationship among us. So civic societies, non-governmental societies usually work very well for a while, but then they start weakening.”

Her own work often includes abstract symbols, text, and collage to create layered, subversive meanings. She shares a story of discovering unexpected associations through combining Turkish and English words. Atagök encourages Turkish artists to draw from their rich visual culture and craft traditions rather than mimicking Western ideals.

She stresses that mutual support among women artists is essential for creating lasting systemic change: “I feel that if one artist is very successful, one female artist, she should bring in another one.” She also calls for more research and writing on women artists whose contributions have long been overshadowed.

In Turkey, she notes a paradox: while women are well-represented in academic institutions, this is not reflected in the commercial art world. She critiques the art market’s pressure on artists to produce decorative, easily consumable work. Curators, she warns, sometimes steer artists toward trendy identity-driven themes: “So the artist, I think, is not as creative as could be.”

She advocates for cross-disciplinary collaboration, especially through her efforts to establish a faculty that integrates video, music, dance, and science. “In between disciplines…asking the questions wide open. Where is nature? Why are we are still outside? I think that relates to this whole idea about globalization.” While global discourse appears inclusive, she argues Western institutions still dominate, absorbing regional art without fully engaging its perspectives.

The conversation closes with Atagök giving an example of her support for the emerging artist CANAN in a jury setting: “She had taken her nude photographs and put them side by side…that was something that would have been eliminated, possibly, if you didn't look at it carefully.”