Instrumentalization and implementation of artistic and cultural practices for integration: The case study of Syrians in Turkey

Abstract

This thesis aims to explore the interaction of three crucial phenomena: migration, integration, and perception of art and culture through the case study of Syrians in Turkey. For this purpose, the study examines the instrumentalization and implementation of artistic and cultural practices in the integration process of immigrants who migrated to Turkey due to the Syrian civil war in 2011. Migration affects both the host society members and the immigrants, whether voluntary or involuntary, for economic, political, social, or cultural reasons. Also, as seen in the example of Syrians in Turkey, although the initial purpose of migration is temporary, many immigrants become settlers in the receiving country, and since it was understood that immigrants would be permanent, policies and practices for integration have started to be discussed. In this sense, since it is understood that the Syrians in Turkey will be permanent, it requires research that offers new perspectives on what can be done about integration. For this purpose, I interviewed professionals such as coordinators, managers, employees, and artists in art centers and non-governmental organizations that use cultural and artistic activities in order to communicate between the local people and the immigrants in the provinces where Syrians live heavily, to explore the instrumentalization and implementation of artistic and cultural practices in the integration process. As a result, institutions' interviews demonstrated that art, artistic and cultural activities have an essential role in the integration process because they bring people from different countries, cultures, and different social groups together, as in the example of Syrians and local people provided communication, contact, and interaction beyond conflict.