The 8th Traditional Painting-Sculpture Exhibition, organized in memory of the Village Institutes, which pioneered radical changes in education, is meeting with art lovers today (April 11) at the Zafer Bazaar Fine Arts Gallery in Ankara. The exhibition, which can be seen until April 19, brings together 143 artists and educators, including Kemal Ulutaş, Mehmet Erbil, and Nilgün Altan, who present works in different disciplines of painting and sculpture.
The exhibition, organized jointly by Eğitim-Sen Ankara Branches, Village Institutes and Contemporary Education Foundation, New Generation Village Institutes Association, Egit-Der, BRHD, Allegory Culture and Art Association, and Teachers' Schools Alumni Association, will be opened on April 11 at 18:00 with the opening speech of Eğitim-Sen General President Kemal Irmak. Various events will be held in the following days. There will be important events such as Ayla Aksoyoğlu’s Painting Performance on April 12, Uygur Orhan’s Sculpture Performance and the panel titled “The Contribution of Village Institutes in Women’s Development” on April 14.
In the joint statement regarding the exhibition, it was stated that “We invite all our people to watch our exhibition and events; we invite them to stand together and side by side with the spirit of Village Institutes against the reactionary, oppressive, authoritarian system we are in.”
The statement made about the exhibition was as follows:
"85 years ago today, the Village Institutes, the most original education reform in the history of education in Türkiye, were opened.
The Village Institutes, whose main purpose was to provide quality education to poor villagers in disadvantaged positions and to ensure the economic and social development of the country, increased in number in a short time and made a great breakthrough in strategic regions of the country.
They raised very qualified individuals with both their course content and the learning by doing model. In addition to scientific courses, Village Institutes ensured the training of very valuable artists in the fields of art, culture and literature. Unfortunately, imperialist centers and local collaborators, who were concerned about these developments, attacked the most important institution of the Republic and modernization by producing various excuses and gossip.
Since that day, the education system has come to the present day through very conflicting processes with guided, imposing, racist, reactionary, gender-discriminatory curricula. In today's postmodern age, education, which is again under siege by reactionary institutions such as congregations, cults, etc. that are given the role of NGOs, continues to struggle.
Within the essence of the Village Institutes tradition, as long as the necessary value is not given to art, culture and philosophy based on equality, freedom, contemporaneity, secular-democratic and scientific understanding of education, the system has no chance of prospering.
In memory of the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Village Institutes, which set out with the ideal of a fully independent, secular and democratic Republic, the 8th Painting-Sculpture Exhibition organized by Eğitim-Sen Ankara Branch Platform and Village Institutes and Contemporary Education Foundation, New Generation Village Institutes Association, Egit-Der, BRHD, Allegory Culture and Art Association, Teachers' Schools Graduates Association will open at Ankara Zafer Çarşısı Art Gallery on Friday, April 11 at 18:00. The exhibition will feature works by 143 artists/educators producing in the fields of Painting and Sculpture. The exhibition, which will last until April 20, will be open to the public between 10:00-17:00 on other days (except Sunday).
During the exhibition, various presentations on the importance, value and functions of Village Institutes, painting and sculpture performances, Village Institutes traveling exhibitions and book stands, talks, and music concerts will continue during the week.
We invite all our people to watch our exhibition and events; we invite them to be together and side by side with the spirit of Village Institutes against the reactionary, oppressive, and authoritarian system we are in."
source: https://t24.com.tr/haber/koy-enstituleri-nin-85-inci-yili-anisina-143-sanatci-bir-araya-geliyor-resim-heykel-sergisi-19-nisan-a-kadar-gorulabilirsiniz,1231962#google_vignette