Turkey’s new curriculum to include singers, modern era artists

Gamze Kolcu - ANKARA

Turkey’s Ministry of Education is planning to include singers and modern era artists in several areas such as music, painting and marbling art in its new draft curriculum. The curriculum aims to introduce the students to the art pieces of renowned Turkish artists.

In the visual arts classes, the students will be seeing art pieces by Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu, Burhan Doğançay, Turan Erol and İbrahim Çallı. As a part of the music classes, the students will listen to songs from the genres such as pop, canto, Anatolian rock and arabesque. 

As a part of the “Visual Arts Culture” class that will be given to tenth graders, the students will be familiar with the significant representatives of the traditional Turkish art. Water marbling artist Mustafa Esat Düzgünman, water marbling and calligraphy artist Necmettin Okyay, illumination artist Rikkat Kunt, miniature artists Matrakçı Nasuh, Nakkaş Osman, Levni and Süheyl Ünver, tile artists Hafız Mehmet Efendi and Faik Kırımlı’s works of art will be introduced to the students. 

The works of arts by the artists who marked an era will be taught in the class, which will include contemporary Turkish painting. In addition to Mihri Müşfik, who is known as the first female artist to start contemporary paintings in Turkey, the curriculum will include Hale Asaf, Turgut Zaim, Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu, Zeki Faik İzer, Ferruh Başağa, Burhan Doğançay, Neşe Erdok, Turan Erol and Süleyman Saim Tekcan’s artistic styles. 

The works of the painters Feyhaman Duran, İbrahim Çallı, Namık İsmail, Nazmi Ziya Güran and Refik Epikman will also be featured in the classes. 

As a part of the “Art Photography” class, the Education Ministry aims to familiarize the students with tools used in art photography in a historic process. Ara Güler, Şakir Eczacıbaşı, Sıtkı Fırat, Naciye Suman and Hannah Collins will be included in this class. 

Moreover, music culture will also be included in the curriculum. The students will listen to songs in the genres of canto, Anatolian rock, tango, Turkish pop music and arabesque. Singers Barış Manço, Moğollar, Erkin Koray and Sezen Aksu will be featured in this class. 

The ministry shared its renewed draft work for the curriculum that is expected to be implemented by the upcoming education year to begin in September 2017.

According to the plan, the online platform where the draft can be edited, will be open until Feb. 10 and will enable people to contribute and share their opinions for all classes except religion and morality classes. After soliciting comments that are expected to come from students, teachers, parents and education experts, a corresponding commission in the Education Ministry will re-evaluate the draft and finalize its work by Feb. 20. The process will then be followed by the writing of new textbooks.