Antispeciesist narratives in contemporary art practices

In recent years, the emergence and evolution of feminist discourses and practices, decolonial studies, queer and crip theories, among others, have become the main generative axes for reinterpretations in the dominant historiography of art and the agency and rewriting of historically marginalized identities and subjects that were invisibilized, violated, expelled, and/or categorized as mere elements within artworks and art exhibitions. This rescue and politicization within art has brought about a paradigm shift in historiography and politics, aiming to establish dialogues between critical theory, political practice, and symbolic intervention within hegemonic visualities and contemporary art.

That being said, drawing a cartography of the evolution of antispeciesist discourses in contemporary art is more challenging today. Many of us are astonished by the lack of antispeciesist discourse in cultural and artistic spaces, while simultaneously understanding the interests of the institutions to which these spaces belong. Amidst this silence, it is impossible not to ask some questions: How are antispeciesist narratives created and displayed within the historiographic project of contemporary art? How can we disrupt the systems of these narratives? What are the relationships between visuality, representation, identity, power, and subjectivation that hinder the inclusion of antispeciesist discourse in the writing of art history?

Antispeciesism as a discourse and political practice against animal exploitation is nearly non-existent within contemporary art practices. This silence implies that the bodies and lives of non-human animals are not considered part of the struggle against the oppression and exploitation of these “other” bodies. Bringing visibility to and addressing these oppressions and privileges generates significant controversy in cultural spaces that consider themselves avant-garde, critical, and transgressive.