The role of local governments in participation in culture: The case of Zeytinburnu Culture Center

This study focuses on the approach of the Zeytinburnu Municipality to participation in culture and the Zeytinburnu Culture and Art Center trainees' experience of participation in culture. According to the in-depth interviews conducted with municipality managers and workers, it is aimed to improve the negative image of the district, make a financial contribution to the district, and create a common city culture with cultural programming. The research assumes that participation in and access to the culture demonstrate the inequalities in city life, such as education, health, and transportation. The study examines the informants' decision-making process, the barriers that they had faced, and their relationship with other cultural and art activities in Istanbul in this context. The experiences of the informants are not considered only as an example of cultural inequalities but also used to understand the subjective elements of individual participation. The study shows that there are factors that direct individuals to the culture center, limit and promote their participation, and yet their participation is limited to the district they live and its public institutions.