Turkey

The nation was modernized primarily by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. As he transformed a religion-driven former Ottoman Empire into a modern nation-state with strong separation of state and religion, a corresponding increase in the methods of artistic expression arose. During the first years of the republic, the government invested a large amount of resources into fine arts such as paintings, sculptures, and architecture. This was done as both a process of modernization and of creating a cultural identity.