The 23th Boston Turkish Festival , organized by the Turkish American Cultural Society of New England-TACSNE with support from a TCF grant continues to run through December 15. Under the theme “Colors of Anatolia,” the festival features art exhibits, workshops, performances, culinary events and a short film competition. The festival began on Turkish Republic Day on October 29th and events take place at leading Boston institutions, including the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and Boston University.

Broad Horizons, a documentary produced and directed by Orhan Ayaslı, about the TCF Spotlight on Turkey program and the TCF Teacher Study Tours, was screened at Boston University on November 6 as part of the 23th Boston Turkish Festival. Broad Horizons follows the journey of a group of American teachers to Turkey in the summer of 2010, examining the impact that exploring a foreign culture can have on the minds of educators and their students. The film can be screened for free for educational purposes. Please send an e-mail to washington@turkishculture.org to request a copy.

Yasemin Kayabay, an 11-year old Turkish ballet dancer, has become the youngest artist to be awarded the TCF fellowship. A student at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University’s Performing Arts Department, Yasemin received the TCF Fellowship to support her participation in the semi-finals of the Youth America Grand Prix competition to be held in Barcelona, Spain on December 6-9. To view Yasemin’s past performances, please visit here.

Hazal Gümüş (TCF Academic Fellow-2012) conducted a workshop titled “Designing for Social Change” at Capital Factory in Austin, Texas on November 7.

Glass artist Gülfidan Özmen, (TCF Cultural Exchange Fellow-2013 and 2018) participated in Nesta Creative Enterprise Programme Facilitators in partnership with the British Council in İstanbul on November 13-15.

Dr. Muzaffer Özgüleş (TCF Academic Fellow-2015) presented his paper entitled “A Digital Interactive Tool for Architectural History Courses: The Initial Results of the Usage of Timeline Travel" at the "Architectural Episodes: Educational Pursuits and Experiences, 1st International Conference" in Gazimagusa, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, on November 15-16.

Dr. Mehmet Ali Sanlıkol (TCF grantee and recipient of the 2012 TCF Fellowship in Turkish Culture and Art) presented excerpts from his ‘coffeehouse opera’, “Othello in the Seraglio”, live with his Jazz trio, followed by a talk in Brighton, Massachusetts on November 10. Dr. Sanlıkol also performed with the “Mehmet Ali Sanlıkol Trio” at Somerville Community Baptist Church in Somerville, Massachusetts on November 16. Another performance titled "1650: Music from Ali Ufki’s Istanbul” by DÜNYA ensemble, headed by Dr.Sanlikol, was presented at the New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall in Boston on November 27 and at Harvard University, Memorial Church, Cambridge on November 28.

Ayşe Gül Süter (TCF Cultural Exchange Fellow 2016 and 2018) was in residency at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine in Barcelona, Spain where she is the sole resident artist in 2018.

Cellist, composer, improviser, and photographer Anıl Eraslan (TCF Cultural Exchange Fellow-2014) held five concerts in November in Berlin, Germany. His concert series continued in Paris and Strasburg in France with six 'H' Album Release Concerts.

Poet and playwright Nurduran Duman (TCF Cultural Exchange Fellow-2016) participated in the “37th Istanbul International Book Fair” as moderator of the panel “Portraits from our Literature,” held at the TÜYAP Fair Convention and Congress Center in İstanbul on November 13.

Feraye Aysel Alver (TCF Cultural Exchange Fellow-2014), a sculptor and a research assistant at Mardin Artuklu University of Fine Arts Faculty Sculpture Department, gave a PAPER PULP/ PAPIER MACHÉ workshop at Nesin Art Village in Selçuk, İzmir, Turkey.

Composer Hakan Ulus (TCF Cultural Exchange Fellow-2014) gave a presentation on “Mannerism” at the “Basler Forum für Musikästhetik” at University of Basel, Switzerland on November 1-2. He also performed New Piece for trumpet and percussion WP with Elison Ensemble in Huddersfield, United Kingdom on November 29.

Roberley Bell (TCF Cultural Exchange Fellow-2015) held an exhibition entitled "Then again" at the Anna Kaplan Contemporary in Buffalo, New York.

Oud virtuoso Mehmet Polat (TCF Cultural Exchange Fellow-2016) held seven concerts in Rotterdam, Haarlem, Den Haag, Utrecht, Nijmegen, Helmond, in The Netherlands in November. His concert series continued with four concerts in Amsterdam.