Transformation of Seljuk madrasas into contemporary art centers and their current utilization

The spatial differentiation of contemporary art, one of the main problems introduced by postmodern thought into the contemporary art scene, is one of the hot topics of the last decade in the Turkish art scene. Historical buildings used to host contemporary art exhibitions in the 1980s due to spatial challenges offer limited solutions for new spatial attempts with contemporary arts becoming popular in the 1990s. With its main focus being the questioning of phenomena of urban and public spheres, this study discusses the application of the new kind of public art as well as the spatial differentiation of contemporary art in this respect. With regards the historical development process, madrasas survive in today's urban settings.In today's world, we need to explore the values of a city without disrupting its original characteristics by looking into its history, making best use of and promoting historical places in the social and cultural environment in the light of today's experiences in order to preserve a city, rather than giving new identities to cities. The artistic and cultural re-introduction of historical madrasas is one of the topics that deserve more attention. It is a process that allows a historical structure to be transferred to future generations by preserving the values in its natural and cultural environment. This process inevitably requires using the structure with a new function and establishing a link between the past and the future by preserving the cultural, architectural, historical and other values of the structure. Increasing cultural and memorial values in the minds of people living in the cities is also important for increasing the quality of the city life. The functioning of madrasas as elements of cultural heritage and their adaptation to the changing living conditions are parts of the natural development of the historical structure, and they should be preserved into the future. Madrasa structures are symbolic structures in terms of the architecture of their respective era. Nowadays, they are unable to adapt functionally. There are many madrasas in our country that started to be used as museums as these structures are works that need to be put on display because they reflect the characteristics of their era and they should be given new functions by putting them to the service of the society and by bringing the madrasas to the fore. No special attention should be given to the fact that they lack originality when using such structures as museums.