THE IMPORTANCE OF “COMMUNİTY CENTERS” AS A CULTURAL INSTITUTION IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF REPUBLIC PERIOD MUSEUM

Abstract

The development of museology in Turkey corresponds to the last period of the Ottoman Empire (westernization period). One of the main reasons why the idea of museology developed in a late period in Turkey was that the protection of cultural heritage did not gain importance. In this direction, the importance of protecting ancient artifacts in a building and being a museum has been understood late. However, thanks to the museum examples that Ahmet Fethi Pasha, one of the important statesmen of the period, saw during his European travels, the lack of a museum in Turkey was constantly mentioned. European museums, which influenced the Pasha, strengthened the idea of establishing a museum in Istanbul day by day. Thus, museology activities were started with the transformation of Hagia Eirene Church into a museum. Hagia Iri Church was the first example in Turkey in terms of forming the core of the idea of museology. Ottoman period museology, after the foreign directors, Osman Hamdi Bey was appointed as the museum director, and Turkish Museology was brought to life in a real sense. Osman Hamdi has spent a lot of effort to advance museology in accordance with the contemporary understanding of museology. Considering in this context, it has been a preparatory stage in the museum of the Republic Period. When we look at the museums of the Republic Period, museum activities were carried out with a rapid breakthrough under the leadership of Atatürk. Community Centers, were established in order to adopt the reforms made in this period to the public. In time, a “museum branch” was added to the Community Centers. With the museology branch, it was aimed to explain the importance of museology to the public and to be sensitive about it. In the community centers, ethnographic materials reflecting the culture of the people were collected in the first place. Thus, preliminary preparations were made for the museums to be established. The main purpose of the study is to emphasize the importance of the Community Centers established in the Republican Period in Turkish Museology. Thanks to the community centers and cultural institutions established under the leadership of Atatürk, the adoption of museology to the public and its contributions to museology will be expressed. In the study, the historical background of the community centers will be included and the connection of these institutions with museology will be tried to be expressed.