In this paper I discuss the active role of the Turkish State and government in reinvigorating Islamic art practices in Turkey over the last decade, and related discourses originating from myriad other sources that connect those art practices to spirituality.
Paper long abstract:
The teaching and learning of Islamic art practices have experienced a major revival in Turkey over the last decade, related in some way to a more general application of Islamic cultural politics by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party). Having survived a hostile regime in the pristine period of 'High Kemalism' (1923-50), today art traditions such as Islamic calligraphy, water marbling (ebru) and 'Sufi music' are in high demand in Turkey's major cities. A range of factors contributes to this revival, including for many participants a search for the 'spiritual.' In this paper I discuss both the active role of the Turkish State and government in reinvigorating this cultural/artistic field (through its incorporation of these visual and sonic practices into its tourism industry and nationalist ideology), and related discourses originating from myriad other sources that connect those art practices to spirituality. The investigation of these processes reveals how the public lives of these art practices are configured by a complex intertwining of socio-cultural, economic and political processes that shape their meaning.