The impact of the pandemic period on cultural production and the changing educational role of museums

From past to present, epidemics have caused the deaths of millions of people and have had a profound impact in social, cultural and psychological dimensions. The forms of destruction, uncertainty and resistance experienced during pandemic processes have historically been an important source of inspiration for artists; artworks from these periods have become the carrier of both individual expressions and cultural memory. In this context, the Covid-19 pandemic, one of the biggest global crises of the 21st century, has also led to significant transformations in the field of culture and art. This research examines the individual and social effects of the coronavirus pandemic in the context of cultural production, the educational roles of museums, and art education programs. With the digitalization that accelerated during the pandemic, significant changes have occurred in the ways of producing, exhibiting and sharing art; museums have become more visible and accessible in online environments and have redefined their educational functions. This study comparatively examines the exhibition practices of museums and their effects on art education programs in this period when distance education has become widespread. The aim of the study is to reveal how the transformation in cultural production and art education has changed through museums and cultural institutions during the pandemic. In this context, a content analysis was conducted on postgraduate theses completed between 2000 and 2024 in line with the keywords "museum education, virtual museum, art education". The digitalization process, the impact of virtual museums on the learning experience and the new roles of museums in education were evaluated in line with qualitative research methods. The research is a qualitative study based on literature review and descriptive content analysis, and the artworks selected by purposeful sampling method were analyzed in terms of form and content. The findings reveal that the pandemic process has created a radical transformation in the forms of cultural production and the educational functions of museums. This transformation offers important clues for the restructuring of art education programs.