Yunus Emre Institute
Under the banner of community spirit and friendship, the Consulate General of the Republic of Turkey and Yunus Emre Institute in London were thrilled to announce the opening of its 3rd Annual Turkish Community Art Exhibition online on Monday 15th February 2021.
The Exhibition was launched with an opening ceremony which was attended by the successful artists and important figures that included H. E. Umit Yalcin, Ambassador of Turkey to the UK; Prof Dr. Seref Ates, President of Yunus Emre Institute; Bekir Utku Atahan, Consul General; Dr Mehmet Karakus, Director of Yunus Emre Institute in London; as well as the artist juries Zeynep Iqbal, Nilay Islek and Cevdet Akman.
Through this exhibition, the Institute proudly celebrated the Turkish artists within the UK community. Although the Covid-19 restriction meant the exhibition could not be run physically this year, with the support and contributions of the artists, the exhibition was now online.
As Dr Karakus made clear in his opening speech, this exhibition was founded to encourage emerging and established artists of the UK-based Turkish community to form supportive networks between them as well as connect Turkish artists to art-seekers. Impressed by the exhibition, Consul General Bekir Utku Atahan, echoed Dr Karakus’ sentiments and drew attention to the importance of fostering communities of artists and art-appreciators. While focusing on the special community connections that can only be formed through art, Prof Dr Seref Ates pressed that the Turkish artistic community in the UK holds so much potential in both artistic talent and being the strongest pillar in the excellent bilateral relations between Turkey and the United Kingdom. Meanwhile, H. E. Umit Yalcin, Ambassador of Turkey to the UK, stressed how this exhibit reflected the hope and strength of the Turkish community in the face of current hardships as well as the communities unwavering appreciation for art and culture.
In the exhibition, each artist has been given their own section which you can scroll through and gain a closer look into the background of our artists. You can select individual artworks too to see their descriptions. The art submitted ranges in style, from traditional to modern pieces, and speaks to all tastes.
In a time of world-wide hardship, collective acts and efforts undertaking unifying and morale-boosting projects are very important. Therefore, the Institute’s greatest thanks go to all members of the Turkish Community in the United Kingdom who have presented their works for this exhibition. We would also like to thank our valued jury for their time and judgement in choosing from a great selection of over 140 artworks from over 70 artists.
The final exhibition was comprised of 88 art pieces from 51 artists including, in alphabetical order, Adam Turk, Ahmet Aydın Ahmet Kutu, Ahmet Tayyar Vako, Ali Ergin, Aynur Kocaoğlu, Ayşe McGowan, Ayşe Özlem Yüksel, Bahar Ulus, Behice Kolçak Şark, Beril Özeroğlu, Bilal Köse, Bora Çetin, Cansu Saraç Engin, Demet Tokbay, Ece Koparal, Eda Ermağan, Esma Uğurluoğlu, Eylül Erva Akın-Kun, Eylül Özmen Yüksel, Funda Evrensel, Gita Serin, Gülşen Cingöz, Kübra Kırca Demirbağa, Kübra Müjde, Melis Erdem, Meltem Bayrak, Meltem Firüzan Yılmaz, Mevlüde Yalçın, Mine Bayar, Mürüde Mehmet, Nagihan Seymour, Orhun Bora, Özgün Evren Ertürk, Öznur Yenilmez, Senem Peace, Serdar Güzel, Sevda Uykan, Sevim Çakır, Sevim Gelgeç, Sibel Pekgöz, Şöhret Başaran Howells, Sonay Memoğlu, Terry Katalan, Tijen Ahmet, Tomris Buse Oyzoyn – Xhikola, Tuğçe Özgelen, Ümit Demirbağa, Vedia Asım, Zerrin Bucaklı and Zeynep Yasemin Otman.
A separate thanks should also be said to those at the Yunus Emre Institute in London who put so much work and effort into this exhibition.
The exhibition was initially available to view online between 15th February and 15th March 2021 but now you can access it through the link below.
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