The Invisible System of Exploitation in the Art World

Some gallery owners, galleries, platforms, collectors, and self-proclaimed business figures have become part of a system that increasingly resembles a regime of inherited privilege. Within this structure, there exists a class that sustains itself through inherited capital rather than production, profits from money itself, or participates in exploitative mechanisms while attempting to render them invisible.

The greatest contradiction of this system lies in the fact that it presents itself as a supporter of art and culture while often sustaining its existence through the labor of artists and workers. A significant part of this environment systematically exploits both. Precarious and one-sided contracts are imposed, labor is devalued, and artists are cornered economically so that personal interests can be maximized. This profit-driven approach not only creates individual injustices but also erodes the quality of art in Türkiye.

Perhaps the most striking aspect is the distance between rhetoric and practice. They walk around wearing accessories worth tens of thousands of euros, yet chase discounts worth only a few thousand liras. They praise labor on May Day while simultaneously benefiting from its exploitation. This is not merely a contradiction; it is the manifestation of an entrenched network of interests and a shamelessly sustained system of exploitation.

Moreover, many of these individuals are neither competent nor particularly qualified in their fields. Yet few are willing to say this openly. These people have occupied decision-making positions through the privileges offered by politics and capitalism. Consequently, merit gives way to networks of relationships, inherited capital, and invisible forms of immunity.

Today, concepts such as solidarity, labor, and cultural development are frequently invoked within the art world. Yet these ideals rarely translate into practice. The very structure that devalues artistic labor, condemns artists to precarity, and continually forces them into compromise remains firmly in place.

The problem, therefore, is not merely a matter of a few individuals. The problem is the system that enables them, protects them, and continuously reproduces them.

You are not the victims of the system of exploitation.

You are the system of exploitation itself.