The role of public houses and village institutes in development process of Turkish art of photography

The discoursed thesis is composed to provide information on historical processes beginning from the establishment of Public Houses to present and on the emergence of Village Institutes, as well as to reveal the role and effects of these institutions on the development of Turkish Art of Photography. The first section refers to the historical development of Public Houses established in 1932, in Ankara, to facilitate the adoption of the reforms of Atatürk, to rise public awareness in all spheres, to grow public interest in arts, to change the repressed mental structures formed after the Ottoman governance, and to redeem the public from ignorance; and also refers to the historical background and vision of the Village Institutes founded with the same rationale by İsmail Hakkı TONGUÇ pursuing to free the peasants from Landowners? slavery by educating them to become autonomous, cognizant, artistic, and intellectual type of persons. The second section of the study depicts the range and type of artistic activities that were presented, and the dimensions of art education offered in Turkey in the years the Public Houses and Village Institutes were established. In this frame, the developmental stages of photography in Turkey are briefly explained. The third section includes pieces of various photography artists who have one way or another (through exhibitions, contests, and like) dealt with Public Houses and served in the photography courses offered in Public Houses. Also, an interview made with Cafer TÜRKMEN who participated a contest in Public Houses is found in this section. In the final part of the study, the significance of photography and how photography education was delivered in Village Institutes is discussed and an interview with Hüsnü GÜRSEL who has given lessons in the photography committee of Village Institutes is presented.