The image of Ankara in the artistic and cultural life in the Early Republican Period

The reforms -mostly regarded as Turkish Modernization- were started to be seen from the first years of the Republic. Those reforms were not solely developed on the basis of Western superiority, there were also based on modernization which included cultural fields in many aspects (Yavuz, 1998, 116). Shortly before the proclamation of the Republic, Ankara was declared as the capital of Turkish Republic on October 13, 1923. Thus, the new capital became the intellectual and political center of modernity and formed the intellectual basis being as the center of Anatolia. The futuristic ideology of the Republic, the ideals of the new country and the way of life that was realized by the machine age were all projected in Ankara (Yasa-Yaman, 2009, 211). Modernization movements during the early Republican Turkey is a historical process that was developed in accordance with new state ideology, cultural and political discourse, and construction of new nation-state (İnalcık, 2004, 101). For this purpose, during the Republican Turkeymany reforms were carried out in all fields of daily life that could be clearly observed in the capital city of Ankara. The scope of this doctoral thesis titled as "The Image of Ankara in the Artistic and Cultural Life in the Early Republican Period" is the the cultural and artistic policies carried out between the years of 1923-1950, which were radically changed with the change of the regime and the capital city after the proclamation of the Republic. This dissertation tries to analyze and discuss how all those policies clearly observed through all the branches of visual arts -concerts, theatre plays, opera and art exhibitions, institutions and daily life practised in Ankara formed the image/perception of Ankara. The transformation and change that were experienced in the process known as Turkish Modernization will be scrutinized in the relation to such following actors and institutions: state, local people, and elites.