Art and Creativity in North Cyprus – Book Launch and Exhibition at the Near East University – Atatürk Congress Centre on Jan 15 2010
It was a great evening, everybody said so. About 250 people came to share the moment of the book launch. The First Lady of the TRNC, Mrs Oya Talat opened the event and at the end she said that the exceptional fact that so many people of different communities, Turkish and Greek Cypriots, British, German, even French have come together, not only in the pages of the book but also for this special evening is important for the creation of peace her husband is deeply involved in. He was supposed to come but had an important meeting elsewhere.
The exhibition is still open until Jan 29, Monday-Friday. I will be there most of the time. If you want to make an appointment please call me under 0533 876 7470.
Here my speech:
SAYIN BAYAN TALAT, SEVGİLİ DOSTLARIM,
BU NOKTAYA VARMAK İÇİN UZUN BİR YOL GEREKTİ,
ŞİMDİ SONUNDA AMACIMA ULAŞTIĞIM BU ANI BENİMLE PAYLAŞTIĞINIZ İÇİN TEŞEKKÜRLER.
Dear Mrs Oya Talat, dear friends, meine lieben Freunde, thank you for sharing this moment with me. It has been a long journey to this point, and now, at last, I have arrived.
When people ask me what I am, a painter, a writer, I tell them I am a traveller, a traveller between the arts, a traveller through the studios and hearts of artists and creative people.
What is art? Art is a process of creation, incessant movement, fuelled by curiosity, the urge to explore, to go deep and deeper. Art is not content with a received or second hand result; on the contrary, it exceeds all limits. Art does not recognise boundaries; it is the spirit and the motor of the whole world, a world language. In the field of the arts, we find all sorts of creative people, people who are impelled to follow the creative urge they were born with.
The starting point of my journey of interviews which took place over a period of four years for just this first volume was to explore the scene of our island’s artists, to present it in an accessible way to the population, including those who have come here to live from all over the world. Another important aspect and goal for me was to bring together artists of different nationalities who were working on the island but who did not know each other. So I am very proud and happy that they are finally meeting, both in the pages of my book and at this exhibition tonight. Unfortunately, some of the excellent artists I would have liked to include in my book were not available; others had their own reasons for not participating, for which I am very sorry.
I want to thank all those who have made the creation of this book possible. In the first place, I want to thank my husband for his patience and support; also my friends for whom I never had enough time; my artist friends who opened their doors and their hearts to me, for their confidence in me and their friendship; my thanks go to the newspapers which first published a great many of my interviews, to EMAA for their belief in my work and for their great input of individual effort to give the book its proper, artistic style and to the translators and editors, who did a fabulous job. Finally, I want to express my gratitude to the persons and institutions who were willing to sponsor the project: to the Presidential Office; to the Department of Culture of the Ministry of Tourism, Environment and Culture; to the Near East University who have so kindly made this evening and the exhibition possible. My thanks go to my friends from Kaleidoskop Turizm in Kyrenia and to Ontime Courier in Munich, Germany for their encouragement and support.
I want to conclude with the leitmotiv of an artist friend: Art is not to create a piece of art, art must be lived, in every thought of your day.
The bilingual book (English and Turkish) will be on sale during the exhibition at the venue for the event price of TL 70;
The book is available in the known bookstores for the price of TL 80.