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In the resistance to the violence of gender-based oppression, vibrant – but often ignored – worlds have emerged, full of nuance, humour, and beauty. Correcting an absence of writing about contemporary feminist work by Canadian artists, Desire Change considers the resurgence of feminist art, thought, and practice in the past decade by examining artworks that respond to themes of diversity and desire.
Essays by historians, artists, and curators present an overview of a range of artistic practices including performance, installation, video, textiles, and photography. Contributors address the desire for change through three central frames: how feminist art has significantly contributed to the complex understanding of gender as it intersects with sexuality and race; the necessary critique of patriarchy and institutions as they relate to colonization within the Canadian nation-state; and the ways in which contemporary critiques are formed and expressed.
Heavily illustrated with representative works, Desire Change raises both the stakes and the concerns of contemporary feminist art, with an understanding that feminism is always and necessarily plural.
"In a year of so much taking stock of Canada, Desire Change stands out in its depiction of the country in 2017. The reason is in the book's multiplicity and historicity, hinted at in the double meaning of Desire Change. While Desire Change focuses on 21st-century work, it frames these essays within the context of a longer history of feminist art-making, exclusions and debate. Whatever else feminism is, it is embodied, local, and therefore multitudinous. A flattened, singular narrative of Canada is a Canada unrecognizable. It's this book's embrace of complex, messy reality that makes it a truthful depiction of the Canadian contemporary." The Globe and Mail
“While there is a growing body of work on third-wave feminism, some of which deals with art practice in its various manifestations, this book provides an up-to-date introduction to the topic in the Canadian context. The Canadian perspective is especially valuable in the area of indigenous art, which reflects on a brutal history with its own important nuances.” Diana Nemiroff, University of Ottawa and author of Land, Spirit, Power: First Nations at the National Gallery of Canada