Arts and Culture During The Days Of Epidemic: Time to Think about Transformation

Arts and culture institutions were among the sectors affected by the measures taken due to the coronavirus outbreak. Postponements were made in culture and arts events with community participation such as theaters, concerts, cinemas, museums, exhibitions, and the venues are temporarily closed. Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts, which staged many important festivals and events throughout the year, and the cultural institution SALT which operates n areas such as exhibitions, researches, conferences and publications, shared their precautions for the days of epidemic and their predictions about the post-pandemic culture and art world.

Director of IKSV Cultural Policy Studies Özlem Ece says that IKSV has been taking action from the first moment of the epidemic and that they have taken their precautions immediately. She says: “It is also the time to think about new approaches, policies and transformative practices in sustainability, especially in the world of culture and art.”

How did İKSV manage the epidemic process within the institution and what measures has it taken?

We have eyed the coronavirus epidemic closely from the beginning, followed the statements of the World Health Organization and the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Turkey. As İKSV, we decided not to accept guests from abroad to our building primarily in order to prevent situations that would endanger public health and to take all measures quickly against the risk of epidemic progress. Then we’ve postponed the 39th Istanbul Film Festival to a later date. Then, we stopped the activities at Salon İKSV and İKSV Alt Kat until April 15 and decided to run our ticket sales and Lale Kart membership operations only through the Biletix website until the end of the month. We have quickly moved to remote working for our employees. We are still following the developments both in Turkey and in the world in order to take the necessary measures and we continue to evaluate our planned activities for this period in this direction. We have taken our precautions by predicting that the developments will reach this dimension. If we did not make these decisions, artists and viewers would also demanded us to do so, the current situation shows that we made the right decision. We also received positive and supportive comments on social media concerning our postponement decisions.

What will be the ways to overcome the possible financial problems that culture and arts environment would face? Has İKSV already started to work on these issues?

The measures announced in different geographies of the world in order the creative sectors and all its components to survive in this difficult period of human history, signal that the need for creativity and the healing power of art will gradually increase. Support packages in accordance with the policies and economic opportunities developed in line with the cultural management models of the countries help the culture and art sector to continue without losing power. On the other hand, it mediates the continuity of creative programs that will heal people in different ways during this period in which people are locked down in their homes. 

Within the scope of İKSV’s cultural policy studies, we are working on a policy text in which we examine different support and solidarity models in the world, and where we will voice suggestions for Turkey. While conducting this research which we will publish in the coming days, we have seen that the support mechanisms put forward by various stakeholders are gathered under a few main titles. It is possible to summarize these as loans and funds created for the culture and arts industry and creative industries, facilities and financial support provided to independent artists, designers and cultural workers, incentives for artistic productions during the social distancing period and information and advocacy activities carried out specifically for the culture and arts sector.

We believe that in order for the art world which has a very fragile structure in Turkey to continue its activities without any irreversible injuries, a comprehensive and long-term support model that will be developed by the public, civil society and the private sector should be implemented quickly. The establishment of a focused and inclusive support mechanism that takes care of the needs specific to the field will have a major impact on making the healer, inclusive and transformative power of culture and arts visible and on reaching the masses.

How do you think an epidemic of this scale that locks everybody in will affect the future of the arts and culture? Will there be decreases in international collaborations or will there be a trend towards digital programs?

Although it is difficult to make a realistic prediction about the course of the moment, I believe that it is essential for the future of our planet to plan by focusing on the optimist scenarios among the various in this process. In this context, it is time to think about new approaches, policies and transformative practices, especially on the “sustainability” in the culture and art world. This year, our cultural policy report prepared by Associate Prof. Hande Paker will open a discussion on how culture and arts relate to sustainability in different ways.

On the other hand, I think that we will need international collaborations and new ties to be established through digital networks and platforms more than ever in these socially distant days where we all feel that we are connected to each other as part of humanity. Although one of the most basic features of bringing people together which is the field of culture and arts has been through a very difficult period under these conditions, it will shape its own future with new and creative solutions because art has a healing effect as well as meeting an emotional need and is therefore indispensable. It is a result of this need for people in quarantine Italy to go out on balconies and sing songs together, and the Leyla Gencer documentary which we recently broadcasted on İKSV’s Youtube channel to be watched by approximately 40 thousand people.

As İKSV, we shape our programs, studies and strategy according to developments, but of course our wish is to be able to return to public spaces as soon as possible and have a healthy, cheerful, active summer and fall period.

 “The Intention Should Not Be Getting Back To What Was Considered Normal”

SALT Research and Programs Director Meriç Öner emphasizes the need for a change in general while explaining the measures taken within SALT: “There are unusual conditions, this is a reality. I wish that the intention would not be getting back to what was considered normal. In this sense, a very drastic change is required regarding the priorities.”

One of the areas that coronavirus epidemic measures most affected was culture and arts. What is SALT doing in the extraordinary days we go through?

The two structures where SALT continues to work have temporarily closed to public access on March 14. All the works that are not obliged to be done within the space were moved to the houses of our team in a short time. Our structures are places that are in intensive and continuous use with public units such as libraries. Our daily content allows us to come together with many people, even in essence it is based on such a mutual relationship.

It is our responsibility to set aside our habits until the conditions change sharply, and not to create environments that disrupt public health in our operations.

Many art institutions and artists have met with the audience online and for free. That’s the good thing. On the other hand, the scene has a very problematic economic part, and we see that the financial crisis is at the door for art producers and venues. What were the problems SALT experienced and what are the solutions it produces in this process?

All content of SALT is always available for free. The accumulation in the fields of art, design, city, society and economy is shared by converting into digital resources, rather than collections which are typically hidden and guarded by museums. Some of the content that has been circulating nowadays is selected from production records under certain programs of nine years, and the other part from SALT Research where we have compiled archives about Turkey’s past from the mid-19th century to the late 20th century. As you can see, the archives that SALT brought together from various artists and architects as well as various people and institutions were already built on the possibility of conducting independent research from the ground. The geographical spread that we observe it to be in use these days is considerably large.

On the other hand, the current conditions have transformed the online environments into the main media of cultural institutions. We continue our long-term work in the background while presenting what we have accumulated in SALT. We proceed on the basis of sensitivities in developing new content. First of all, we need to underline that the contribution of people, institutions and initiatives from a wide range of information fields is needed in the daily flow of cultural institutions. How will we maintain this ecosystem while working in today’s constraints? Our users are the ones who value and transform what we do. The assumption that everyone has more time than before is not legitimate and reasonable. How much interest will we aspire to be? We continue to discuss the points of origin of these questions within the body of both SALT and the European museum confederation L’Internationale. Our reflexes have been tested on what was happening. We have more steps ahead. We tend to remain both prudent, alert, and to move forward by caring for each other’s needs. Undoubtedly we all will renew our methods, but if our focus will be on how we would get together again with those who produce and use, more than on what new channel we would present ourselves through, what we do would become useful. We do not need a single, big or complete solution, or a fragmented multiplication that will not make sense. I am in favor of dismantling the methods that are the cause of today’s weaknesses, replacing the parts, installing them in other ways and re-breaking them when necessary. The application comes before the explanation of such an experiment. It takes some time to talk about realistic solutions. At present, what is done in practice at SALT are careful and meticulous presentations. These presentations reflect our current content and thought capacity.

So, how do you think the financial problems that the culture and arts environment will experience after the epidemic? What steps should be taken by the state and relevant non-governmental organizations in this regard?

These questions require remembering a few critical issues inherent in each other. First of all, the financial problems to be addressed as a result of these days will not be specific to the cultural environment. However, it is clear that culture will leave a very burning effect when it is perceived as a big luxury. It is necessary to say this without opening any parentheses: what feeds this perception is the tendency that has secured culture and turned it into an instrument of experience when it was a public relations tool, and the direct contribution of institutions to it. Basically, it is necessary to question what the institutions are doing and for whom. Likewise, the ways in which they work and according to which habits they allocate their financial resources should be examined. The reason for emphasis on institutions is to point out to ourselves among our responsibilities in the production and sharing environment that is shared with many people. There are unusual conditions, this is a reality. I wish that the intention would not be to return to the usual. In this sense, a very drastic change is required regarding the priorities. It is necessary to realize that we stand among the options of establishing temporary and permanent, mediating consumption and multiple use at once. It may be the first step to talk about evaluating all kinds of material resources through our intermediary between the main producers and users rather than overcoming financial problems. I can recommend that state and non-governmental organizations share their opportunities with the awareness and responsibility of a long-term duty as a concrete action. Production in culture is very diverse. It is difficult in this respect to talk about the future from a principled approach.

What kind of a scene do you expect in the post-epidemic culture and arts environment? How will art galleries continue their ways? Can the World overcome quarantine days with new artist and art audience trends? Can countries be turned in upon themselves and will there be decreases among international collaborations?

Scenarios, possibilities and even dreams for the post-epidemic are very diverse. I have no desire to add another prophecy. On the one hand, I think that each of our predictions may change again according to the process, and on the other hand, the outcome will naturally be multiple. If we focus on your last question, it is not possible for me to experience a truly national introversion on the cultural level after such a simultaneous shocking common experience. However, once the limitation of mobility and changes in established spatial habits are added to the local needs at the level of states or institutions, it is clear that old forms of contact cannot be maintained in the same way. I think if we were not obsessed with serving “global” defaults such as vanity, growth, competition and so on, we would have already been focused on such pursuits. Personally, I will follow those who are exploring how the cultural environment will build new relationships and structures that differ from the past, rather than trying to do the same work as before.