The Yunus Emre Institute (YEE), Turkey’s state-run agency that promotes Turkish language and culture around the globe, has opened an exhibition comprised of works by 33 Turkish Sephardic artists in its Amsterdam branch. Curated by Terry Katalan, “Exhibition of Turkish Sephardic Artists” presents various works of art, including paintings, glass arts, sculptures, marblings, mosaics and ceramics.
Amsterdam YEE Director Abdullah Akin Altay stated that they moved the exhibition, which took place in Barcelona in 2014 and London in 2018, to Amsterdam this year with the support of Turkey. Altay expressed his happiness as the launch of the show coincided with the 700th anniversary of the great Turkish thinker and poet Yunus Emre's death.
"The exhibition shows the integration of Sephardic people in Turkey with Turkish culture," the curator Katalan said, noting that Sephardic people have been a part of Turkish society for 529 years. She added that the motto of the exhibition was "traces of multicultural historical heritage” and that the arrival of the Sephardic people in the Ottoman Empire, which welcomed them from the Iberian peninsula, was reflected in the exhibition.
The show is supported by Turkey's Embassy in The Hague and its Ministry of European Union Affairs along with the Cervantes Spanish Cultural Center, the Quincentennial Foundation, ACB Consulting Services and the Jewish Historical Museum in Amsterdam. It will remain open until November 12.
