Traditional Turkish Handicrafts Courses organized in the Balkans for two years as part of “From Master to Apprentice” project, were carried out by Yunus Emre Enstitüsü with contributions of Halkbank, and ended with the closing ceremony held following the training program in Istanbul. Trainees attended the intensive training program between 3-13 December, and visited masters and art centers in Istanbul. After the 10-days long training program, closing ceremony was held in Üsküdar Bağlarbaşı Culture Center on 14 December, Monday. In the final program “From Master to Apprentice”, a documentary depicting two years of training journey premiered and handicraft works by trainees were also displayed.

As part of “From Master to Apprentice Project”, nearly 2000 trainees received training in courses organized for two years on nine different branches of art in 10 Balkan cities. As part of the project, masters Osman Nergiz, Sabahat Endam, Sevinç Naldöğen Kök, Zafer Kıyıcı, Gözde Kıyıcı, Abdulvahap Ertekin, Mehlika Çakan, Hüsnü Ünlü, Hasan Tabakoğlu, Şengül Karaağaçlı, and Zekiye Doğar from Turkey visited Balkans since 2013 to teach the arts in detail and raise new master candidates.

Master candidates, selected from among trainees who greatly benefited from the training given by masters from Turkey, met in Istanbul. Participants got the opportunity to make advanced marbling, calligraphy, wood carving, silver brocade, wire thread, filigree and silver embroidery applications with their masters in Fatih Sultan Mehmet Foundation University Kandilli Traditional Arts Faculty.

Throughout the program, master candidates also visited the prominent names living in Istanbul who are masters in their fields and art centers where handicrafts are performed in detail. They visited leading names in traditional arts as Alpaslan Babaoğlu, Hüseyin Kutlu, Semih İrteş, Şehmus Okur, Hüsamettin Yivlik, Sacit Açıkgözoğlu, Fatih Yeşil, Nurten Coşkun, and Şaduman Birsel, got informed on the crafts and made applications collaboratively. Master candidates visited centers and museums offering art training and featuring rare art works as well as major culture venues in Istanbul.

In the opening ceremony of the training program held on 3 December in Istanbul, Yunus Emre Enstitüsü Vice President Prof. Dr. Şeref ATEŞ got together with master candidates in Hagia Sophia Primary School and mentioning the significance of art for all nations and faiths, Ateş stated that man aims for what is perfect and beautiful through art and what matters in achieving perfection is to realize our inability against the Creator. Ateş referred to the finest Persian rugs weaved deliberately with a single flaw to remind that mistakes are for people and people are powerless against God. Ateş addressed the trainees who received training in the project and advanced towards mastery, as follows: “In the future, you will survive these crafts as masters, and you are being promoted to masters from apprentices.”

Yunus Emre Enstitüsü Vice President Dr. Ebubekir Ceylan visited the master candidates in program's final workshop. Ceylan said that this is the most important phase of the project carried out for the last two years with contributions of Halkbank, and expressed his gladness in seeing new master candidates and their works. Ceylan reflected that the contributions to revive these crafts and make them more widespread are of great importance to Yunus Emre Enstitüsü, and wished new master candidates success. Faculty Dean Prof. Dr. Hüsrev Subaşı, who offered every means available in Fatih Sultan Mehmet Foundation University Fine Arts Faculty to master candidates for 10-days long application workshops, gave a seminar to master candidates on Philosophy of Traditional Arts on the last day of workshops.

Among major art centers visited throughout the training program in Istanbul are Classic Turkish Arts Foundation, Nakkaş Tezyini Arts Center,  Fatih Sultan Mehmet Foundation University Kandilli Fine Arts Faculty, Istanbul Science, Arts, Culture and Education Center, Mihrabat Culture-Arts Garden, Istanbul Design Center and Süleymaniye Manuscript Library.

Trainees who also got the chance to visit major cultural and historic monuments in Istanbul during Topkapı Palace, Hagia Sophia Museum, Basilica Cistern, Grand Bazaar, Eyüp, Çamlıca and Beyoğlu tours as well as art centers, return to their countries to perform their arts after an intensive program.

Project Closing Ceremony in Üsküdar

Closing ceremony of “From Master to Apprentice Project” was held in Üsküdar Bağlarbaşı Culture Center on 14 December, Monday. In the final program where “From Master to Apprentice” documentary depicting two years of training journey premiered, handicraft works by trainees were also displayed. 

Attended by Halkbank CEO and Head of Yunus Emre Enstitüsü, “From Master to Apprentice” documentary was screened. Exhibition, introducing arts through applications and featuring works by trainees was opened, and a certificate ceremony was held. Mühür Art Turkish Music Ensemble also made a performance in the program.