The comparison of arts policies in Turkey with arts policies in the European Union countries

Culture and arts policies are the scheduled trends in artistic and cultural fields, which are proceeded by government bodies responsible for culture and arts as well as ministries, municipalities, associations, foundations and universities in order to conserve and promote the arts and artistic works. Relevant opportunities should be provided to make the society participate in artistic life meaning that every individual of the society exhibits and improves his/her creativity through some precautions, by founded organisations, provided economic and social facilities, which as a whole define the arts policy. Likewise in the European Union (EU) countries where people with the need of integration live in different areas and in different styles, the arts actively leads an integrating role to make those people get on well with each other and unite around shared values. Therefore, EU policies on the arts aim to preserve the cultural inheritance and prosperity of EU and to assist everybody to access those values. The EU supervises programmes to support various arts industries while facilitating them in catching up with the opportunities of market unity and digital technologies. Comparing arts policy of Turkey, which is a EU candidate country, and arts policy of EU countries is important with regards to the integration between member and candidate countries. Therefore, this study was conducted. The study revealed that art and artists were supported both in EU countries and in Turkey. The highest percentage of the arts students was in United Kingdom, which was 6.8%, while this percentage was 1.4% in Turkey. Concerning the number of museums and archaeological sites, the ratio of Turkey to Germany was 6500/324. Same ratio concerning the public budget for arts and cultural affairs was 9.19 billion/85.8 million Euro in 2010. Generally, ministries of education have the responsibility for art education, including Turkey. We offer suggestions for arts policies based on the results of the study.Keywords: The European Union, Turkey, Arts, Culture, Arts Policies