A qualitative research on dynamics of contemporary visual arts market in Turkey

In this research, the social dynamics of the formation of the contemporary art market in the 21st century of Turkey is discussed. In this respect, the role of the artist and the art market actors in the social relations network, which is necessary for gaining the status of artwork by focusing on the field of visual arts, is evaluated. In this context, the aim of this thesis is to investigate and analyze the role of the structure, agency, and object (artwork) in the process of determining the value of the artwork. In this respect, the theoretical and conceptual approaches of George Dickie, Pierre Bourdieu, Paul DiMaggio, Luc Boltanski & Eve Chiapello, Luc Boltanski & Arnaud Esquerre have been used. In addition, instead of focusing only on one of the agency, the focus was on both the artist and the curator. In addition, in the process of producing artwork and determining its value, the other actors of the artworld public, as well as the effects and roles of galleries, collectors, auction houses, art critics and art writers were also analyzed. In this study, it was conducted in-depth interviews with twenty five artists and curators who were related with the large family group's (or their holdings) non-profit arts institutions or foundations that they have in supporting contemporary art events in Turkey. As a result of the findings obtained in this research, "value creating agency" and "artistic community" concepts have been formed.