Kamusal alanda müzik performans sanatı - Beyoğlu, İstiklal Caddesi, Tünel bölgesi Sokak müzisyenleri incelemesi

The concept of the public sphere in Western societies has been debated by sociologists since the 17th century and came into discussion in the 2000s once again. The public sphere is a space for compromise between the state and the civil society according to Habermas' definition. In a public space that is open to everyone, citizens have the right to gather, organise and express what they think regarding issues about their common welfare with a sense of togetherness. The state is responsible for guaranteeing that society can use this right without limiting their freedom in any way. The democracy level of a society is in direct proportion to how freely the public spaces can be used by its people. Habermas' theory became a point of reference for the social scientists and academicians coming after him. The most important reason for this is that his definition describes the relation between the public sphere and democracy in a clear way. The English word "public" which means "public" connotes "state" in Turkish. This connotation arises not because of the fact that the state is responsible for maintaining public security in public places, but rather because in Turkey the use of public places is under state control. Due to the 13th Istanbul Biennial, whose theme was Creating Public Spaces, in addition to the violence of state authority in the public sphere as a result of the Gezi Park protests, the question regarding to what extent are public spaces open to people became a current issue in Turkey's agenda. When the public spaces in this land are traced back in history, it is seen that in the Ottoman Empire there were not public spaces such as squares and avenues, which were found in the Western societies, hence public life was experienced in Turkish baths by women, and in Turkish baths as well as coffee houses by men. In the Ottoman Empire mosque courtyards, bazaars, Turkish baths and coffeehouses functioned similar to the forums during Antiquity. Since the Ottoman times, Beyoglu has been a district turned towards the West. This district, which has always been a pioneer in fields such as art, culture, municipality, transportation and societal relations, is one of the first places that street musicians, a Western concept, was introduced. Since 1991, when it was closed to traffic, Istiklal Street has functioned as a large stage for street festivals, celebrations and street music. The aim of this thesis is to examine how street musicians that perform on Istiklal Street experience the street. The study is a field analysis; it consists of compiled interviews and observations. The kind and quality of music played by the musicians are not considered as a criterion during the analysis. The DVD in the attachment comprises of selections from performances of street musicians and interviews done with them. Keywords: public sphere, public space, street, Istiklal Street, Beyoglu, street musicians