Turkish American Projects in Art + Design

October 30, 2007 – December 30, 2007

Reception: Tuesday, December 11th, 4:00–6:00 p.m.

Organized by the University of Minnesota Art + Design Dept.

The Turkish American Projects were developed to form a bond of communication and creative exchange among students and faculty in Turkey and America—a cross-cultural collaborative experience. They provide an opportunity for University of Minnesota Duluth students to gain an understanding of the riches of historical and contemporary Turkish visual culture, and for them to be ambassadors of UMD abroad. The student work displayed in the exhibition is a result of collaborative interaction between Art and Design students at UMD and Graphic Design students at Başkent University in Ankara, Turkey.

The collaboration began as part of the Turkish American Alliance initiated by School of Fine Art’s Dean Jack Bowman in January, 2005. The Turkish American Alliance fulfills the UMD School of Fine Art’s vision for academic enhancement through international initiatives with the development of enduring relationships and effective working methodologies designed by the music, theatre, and visual arts departments of the SFA, the Tweed Museum of Art, and four universities in Turkey: for music, Dokuz Eylül University in Izmir and Hacettepe University in Ankara; for theatre, Istanbul State University; and for visual arts, Baskent University in Ankara. The project incorporates the performing arts and the visual arts in a program of workshop, residency, performance, and exhibition.

In May 2006, Art and Design faculty from UMD, including Alison Aune, Assoc. Prof. in Art Education, and Virginia Jenkins, Dept. Head and Prof., visited Başkent University to meet with Dr. & Professor Filiz Yenişehirlioğlu, Dean, Faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture, and Graphic Design faculty Instructors Halime Fisenk and Murat Devrim Atilgan. From this meeting, collaborative projects and partnerships emerged. The student work presented in the exhibit is a selected representation of the results of these collaborations.

View the Tulip and Arabesque online exhibit.