Arts should deal with us: Culture minister

ANKARA - Anatolia News Agency

DHA photo

Turkish opera, ballet and theater cannot be indifferent to Turkey, Culture and Tourism Minister Ertuğrul Günay has said. Speaking about the use of cultural elements in the performing arts recently, Günay said he was pleased. “If we allocate resources for it, it should deal with us, too.”

He said the arts were based on originality and original meant returning to the roots of culture. “When we present an attractive work that is based on history to the global market, we can say that we are done with opera, ballet and symphony,” Günay said.

“We will be a performer only when we perform a nice Western work. We tried to explain it in the past and now it begins to change. I wish it had changed 35 years ago; then Turkey would be in a better position, because I believe that Turkey’s respect and talent in creating works of art will be better understood if we create a product that belongs to us,” Günay said.

Being unique but not an imitator

He said the root of any successful artistic product in the world was in the culture of its own country. “In this way we can be unique but not an imitator.”

According to Günay, works created with the support of the public should tell Turkey more. “Our opera, ballet, theater and cinema should not be indifferent to Turkey. A private company does whatever it wants, but if we allocate resources for it as a public institution, it should be inspired by our own cultural world, history and traditions.”