Art Traditions and the Role of Art inSoutheastEurope's Educational Systems

Abstract

In Southeast Europe, geopolitical interests and cultural diversity are still shaping the landscape's borders and its inhabitants' identities. Europe's Balkan Peninsula and the eastern Mediterranean countries – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Greece, Kosovo, Montenegro, and Serbia – lie at the crossroads of continents and civilizations and comprise a melting pot of political interests, religious beliefs, and cultural traditions. In this pot, art production is a sign of this diversity and throughout history it has also become a meeting point of coexistence for the area's inhabitants. This chapter is an account of art traditions and practices in the region, and it focuses on the ways in which art has been incorporated in each country's educational system today.