Integrating through art and aesthetics

In large cities, people are lonely, all by themselves. The streets and avenues of the city are overflowing with crowds, yet within these crowds, people are solitary, forlorn. They let themselves go into the crowd, drifting aimlessly from one place to another, without any relationship, any sharing, or any interaction among them. Not feeling like one belongs anywhere. This is the point where the feeling of loneliness and solitude hits a dead end, and it is also alienation. 

Life in large cities flows fast. People rush to keep up with the city's rapid rhythm due to work intensity and the struggle for a livelihood. In this hustle and bustle, it is almost impossible for them to find time for each other. It is also very difficult to step outside the limited space of the nuclear family—consisting of mother, father, and children—and engage in different social interactions under the rhythmic living conditions of the city. They spend their non-working time mostly in the enclosed spaces of shopping malls to meet needs like shopping, and they return home tired, exhausted, and burdened even more by the pressure of the economic crisis and the difficulty of making a living. 

Perhaps one of the most effective ways to alleviate the difficulty of big-city life and the pressure it places on people is art. Small touches of art can allow people who are struggling within the confinement of the city, burdened by livelihood concerns and work intensity, to catch their breath, relax, and most importantly, notice each other, interact, and integrate. The aesthetic-focused emotional interaction environment of art can mobilize people's emotional worlds and create an environment for them to make human contact with one another. The mobilization of the human emotional world and aesthetic-focused interaction also contribute to the development of human sensitivity and the strengthening and spread of common sense. For this reason, contact with art and aesthetics is important. 

While saying these things, I am aware of how high the prices of cinema, theater, and especially concert tickets are. I know how frustrating it is to walk around art exhibitions and not be able to buy even a single painting. This is one side of the issue, but on the other hand, I also know that it is not very difficult to transform cities into social, cultural, and artistic environments. With a concept of social city and social municipalism, it is possible to use a portion of public resources to meet the social, cultural, and artistic needs of the city dwellers. One of the most effective ways to prevent the formation of unhappy crowds in the city that have the potential to explode at any moment, and to create a peaceful and healthy urban society, is to create social, cultural, and artistic environments that allow for more humane interaction. 

I say this by observing the artistic events that Üsküdar Municipality has held in recent months, open to the participation of all Üsküdar residents, and seeing how effective a path this is. When I find the time, I also participate, and I both enjoy listening to quality music in a magnificent ambiance and witness the happiness and joy of the participants. People come with their children and listen to concerts and watch films for hours. The joy on their faces and the sparkle in their eyes show how much they enjoy it. Some watch the event standing for hours, but there is no pushing, no tension, no rudeness. So it is possible; you get back what you give. 

If people are angry in the streets and avenues, ready to explode at any moment, and if incidents such as fighting, noise, and violence are frequently encountered, and the city's streets and avenues become unlivable, then public authorities and those in power must sit down and analyze the situation in detail. If people cannot control their anger when they encounter even the slightest problem and turn to violence, it means there is a problem somewhere. Shifting the problem and responsibility onto the masses is not a solution. People are not inherently bad; they prefer what is good and what is beautiful. Every person wants to be at peace and safe. Every person wants to have safe interaction and share in goodness and kindness with other people in the society they live in. Peace and security are formed in this way. But for this, people living in the same society, the same city, and the same neighborhood need to be aware of each other, know each other, and understand each other. As goodness and beauty become the occasion for these awarenesses, encounters, and sharings, people feel happy, peaceful, and most importantly, safe. This is precisely why creating artistic and cultural environments and ensuring that people integrate in these environments is important and necessary. 

To build a society with a high level of consciousness and a developed level of sensitivity, it is essential to nourish it with art and aesthetics.