Transforming Effects of the Global COVID-19 Pandemic on Contemporary Art in Turkey

The aim of the project is to contribute to the development of solution proposals by researching the current and anticipated effects of the global COVID-19 epidemic on contemporary art from the perspective of social and human sciences, with a sample group consisting of artists, art professionals and art audiences. The economic, social and psychological problems created by the epidemic on individuals working and producing in the field of contemporary art have turned into a spiral that is difficult to separate from each other and feeds each other. Due to the fragility of the art economy in Turkey and the lack of infrastructure in the area, the epidemic affected the area extremely negatively. 3 out of 5 artists lost their income during the epidemic process. One of the first reactions to the epidemic was the transfer of activities held in physical places to the online environment. With the interruption of the opportunity to physically follow the art events, the audience gave a chance to see the online exhibitions or watch the events, and while they attended more frequently at first, their interest did not continue to the same degree after a while. The view that the digital environment cannot replace the physical space and that the physico-spatial experience is an essential part of the reception of art is dominant in the entire sample group. However, it is possible to say that the online experience in contemporary art events is seen a little more positively. On the other hand, the epidemic also affected and transformed the way galleries, museums and culture-art institutions exhibit their works of art in physical space (hygiene, social distance, physical contact, etc.) during this period. It is thought that it is extremely necessary to develop improvement studies and support mechanisms that will cover the contemporary art sector. It is foreseen that the cultural and artistic development of the country will stall if artists, who can neither be workers, civil servants, experts, nor stay outside the capitalist system, are not supported in material and moral forms in a geography where artistry does not exist as a profession. It is thought that the state should recognize the field of contemporary art as a sector and accept artists and art professionals as employees of the field. It has been evaluated that the state, municipalities and the private sector should come together under the leadership of culture and art institutions, to develop sustainable strategies that will strengthen the art economy, to produce policies, and to implement these strategies by including these strategies in the development plans of the state.