Yunus Emre InstituteYunus Emre Enstitüsü – London’s Art Gallery in Fitzrovia opened its doors on May 7, 2024, to a unique exhibition of Traditional Tragacanth Dolls by Sibel Radiye Gül. The exhibition, which runs until May 10, 2024, until 6 PM, has already drawn significant interest from the public and media alike.
The debut exhibition showcases a unique art form that connects storytelling from the past to the future. Selected from the Cappadocia Museum of Art and History, the exhibition features a wide collection ranging from female motifs in Anatolia from ancient times to the present, Turkish-British relations, famous portraits, and universal messages.
Sibel Radiye Gül, a traditional crafts artist who has been working on tragacanth dolls since 1980, has brought to life the rich cultural heritage of Anatolia through her works. Each doll is meticulously crafted with costumes and decorated scenes appropriate to the selected theme. Gül, registered as the “Turkish Ministry of Culture’s Traditional Tragacanth Doll Artist” since 2012, prepares all the costumes, decorations, and accessories required for tragacanth doll compositions herself.
The exhibition, organised by the TB Centre for Cultural and Creative Industries in London in collaboration with Yunus Emre Institute, offers a unique opportunity for visitors to immerse themselves in the rich cultural heritage of Anatolia and the artistry of tragacanth dolls.
The Cappadocia Museum of Art and History, founded by Gül in 2001 as Turkey’s first Tragacanth Doll Museum, is an important cultural memory space for the making, preservation, and transmission to future generations of traditional tragacanth dolls. The museum has been operating in the town of Mustafapaşa (Ürgüp) in Cappadocia under the status of a “private museum” affiliated with the Turkish Ministry of Culture since 2005.
For more information about upcoming events and initiatives, please visit yeelondon.org.uk