The award ceremony of the 'Ten Forms of Art III Traditional Turkish Arts Competition' organised by Balıkesir Metropolitan Municipality, Balıkesir Education, Culture and Art Foundation and Balıkesir City Council was held in honour of the 100th anniversary of the Republic. "Special Award of Respect for the Master" in 3 branches was also presented at the ceremony.

In honour of the 100th Anniversary of the Republic, the award ceremony of the 'Ten Forms of Art III Traditional Turkish Arts Competition' organised by Balıkesir Metropolitan Municipality, Balıkesir Education, Culture and Art Foundation and Balıkesir City Council was held at Avlu Congress and Culture Center. The programme started with the exhibition themed "Selections from the Masters" featuring the works of the masters. After the exhibition, the talk on "Art in Balıkesir" was moderated by Prof. Dr. Fatih Özkafa, with the speeches of Fuat Başar, Dr. Mehmet Gürsoy and Prof. Dr. Faruk Taşkale. At the end of the talk, a plaque was presented to Yücel Yılmaz, Mayor of Balıkesir Metropolitan Municipality, by Prof. Dr. Faruk Taşkale for his contributions to the preservation of Balıkesir's cultural civilisation heritage and its transfer to future generations.

76 WORKS WERE AWARDED IN 10 CATEGORIES

In the competition where 274 works applied, 76 works determined by the selection committee were awarded in two categories and ten branches. The first category consists of Hüsn-i Hat, Illumination, Miniature, Engraving, Solid, Tile and the second category consists of Traditional Felt Making, Balıkesir Pullu, Gönen Needlepoint and Sındırgı Yağcıbedir Carpet.

“SPECIAL AWARD OF RESPECT TO THE MASTER” IN COMMEMORATION OF THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE REPUBLIC

At the ceremony, "Special Award of Respect to the Master" was presented in 3 branches in commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Republic. The Special Award of Respect to the Master in Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Republic was given to Dr. Mehmet Gürsoy, who was accepted as a heritage bearer by UNESCO in 2009 and declared as a "Living Human Treasure", to Fuat Başar, who received the "Traditional Arts" branch award in the field of "Culture and Art Grand Awards" by the Presidency in the field of Calligraphy, and to Prof. Dr. Faruk Taşkale, Head of the Illumination Department of Mimar Sinan University GSF: Mimar Sinan University GSF Illumination Department Head Prof. Dr. Faruk Taşkale.

In addition, Honour Award was given to Müyesser Baykal and Nesrin Kandolu who won the 1st prize in Gönen Needle Laces and Balıkesir Pullusu for 3 consecutive years.

TEN FORMS OF ART ADDED VALUE TO BALIKESİR

Mayor of Balıkesir Metropolitan Municipality Yücel Yılmaz started his speech by celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Republic; “Happy Republic Day, may our 100 year anniversary be an occasion for us to do good works. I commemorate with gratitude and blessings all those who entrusted us this homeland and this republic, especially Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and his comrades-in-arms. Karesi's Skilful Hands, then Metropolitan, our journey is long. As Balıkesir Metropolitan Municipality, we have been organising the events we have been organising for about 8 years under the name of "Ten Forms of Art". Artists from all over Türkiye come to Balıkesir. They prepare for 8-9 months. I would like to thank all our skilled hands and artists who add value and honour to Balıkesir. I would like to convey our gratitude. The students you have trained, the people you have inspired have contributed and will contribute a lot to this city, Balıkesir and Türkiye. Thank you for your efforts."