After remarkable comebacks against Switzerland, Czech Republic and Croatia, Turkey has reached the semi-finals in the UEFA Euro 2008 soccer tournament. Please join us for what will undoubtedly be another exciting match.

Free admission, appetizers and cash bar will be available.
Please RSVP by Tomorrow, June 25, 2008, 10:00a.m.
info@americanturkishsociety.org or 212 583 7614

Opening Reception: June 14, 6-10pm

Preview: June 13, 6-10pm

Public Hours: June 13, 7-10pm, June 14 and June 15, 12-5pm

As the title suggests, this exhibition will feature four young artists, all originally from or living in Istanbul. However, the title is meant to resonate with its other possible meaning - of long-standing cultural exchange and the constant coming and going that represents the history of Istanbul and its privileged place at the crossroads of trade routes between Europe and Asia.

The artists in 4//From Istanbul exemplify the busy trade routes of our contemporary lives, with each of them highly aware of the intense and pervasive influence that Western art history and general pop culture have on them. at the same time, they are more circumspect in evaluating the influence of their native culture, with some including specific references while others simply absorb inspiration from their surroundings wherever they may be, creating a tension between between the local and the global that makes extended attention to these artists work genuinely rewarding. Hayal Pozanti's stark black and white prints belong to a graphic sensibility that signals hip, sexy design around the world, but their imagery borrows from Turkish mythology, Ottoman miniatures and Turkish Kilim patterns. Bora Akinciturk's oil paintings take inspiration from canon of Modernism, with stylistic nods to Picasso, Matisse, Basquiat and Gauguin, his main inspiration is vigilant and sensitive observations of the world around him, which translates themselves into semi-fantastical scenes that resonate with real emotion. Graffiti artist Cagri, knows as "cins" for his pieces that interact with the architectural and urban spaces of Istanbul, is represented here by stand-alone pieces whose materials, such as ripped corrugated cardboard translate the rough edged style of the street to an interior setting. Still they seem torn from another world, as do his figures - monster-like tubular protrusions, disembodied eyes and excavated dinosaurs. Lastly, Ahmet Civelek, the youngest of the four, creates strikingly bright, abstract canvases that seem to be in dialogue with the American Abstract Expressionist tradition, with big drips pouring across carefully structured backgrounds.

For more information, please contact Mezze at 646-427-4992 or email info@mezzeart.com

The American Turkish Society is a proud supporter of Moon and Stars Project's MayFest 2008.

Please see Moon and Stars Project's website for additional information about the festival program and to purchase tickets.

The American Turkish Society is proud to present A Discussion with Maureen Freely, author of Enlightenment
Moderated by Professor Sibel Erol, New York University

“A dark Conradian drama, set in a beautifully illuminated Istanbul, where the past is always with us.” - Orhan Pamuk

May 15, 2008
6:00-6:15pm Registration
6:16-7:00pm Discussion with Maureen Freely, moderated by Professor Sibel Erol, NYU
7:00-8:00pm Book Signing and Reception

Maureen Freely is a writer, translator, and professor at the University of Warwick in Bath, England. She was born in the United States and grew up in Istanbul, where her father has been a university professor since 1963. She was educated at Radcliffe College and has made her home in England for the last twenty-three years. The author of three works of nonfiction, Ms. Freely has been a regular contributor to the Guardian, the Observer, the Independent and the Sunday Times for two decades, writing on feminism, family, social policy, Turkish culture and politics, and contemporary literature. She is well-known for her translations of Snow (2004), Istanbul: Memories of a City (2005), The Black Book (2006), and Other Colors (2007), by the Turkish novelist and Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk.

From the Publisher: In her new novel Enlightenment, Freely captures both the passion, distrust, and duplicitousness of life in Cold War Istanbul, and the complexities of modern life in contemporary Turkey. As an investigative journalist unravels the strange and politically-charged disappearance of an American woman who first came to Turkey in the 1960s, she discovers a heartbreaking history of first loves shattered and best friends betrayed. Enlightenment also entertains as a tense and complex thriller involving a retired secret service informer, a mysterious ‘trunk’ murder, and a group of young students embroiled in subterfuge. (Overlook Press/ Hardcover, $24.95 / ISBN: 978-1-59020-074-2 / May 13, 2008).

Space is limited. Pre-registration is strictly required. To register, please fill out attached form and fax or mail it to The American Turkish Society by Thursday, May 15, 12pm (noon). For questions, please email info@americanturkishsociety.org

The American Turkish Society is pleased to support the first U.S. exhibition of prominent Turkish artist Yuksel Arslan at The Drawing Center.

Yüksel Arslan: Visual Interpretations
April 18 – May 15, 2008

Yüksel Arslan (b. 1933, Istanbul, Turkey) has often been associated with the loosely-structured surrealist movement in Turkey and was affiliated with the intellectual circles of 1960s Paris that included Jean-Paul Sarte, André Breton, and Jean Dubuffet. For the past 60 years, Arslan has been mining the depths of the unconscious mind, bringing together Western and Eastern aesthetics and philosophy in finely wrought works that he calls Autoartures. Serial in format, the hundreds of drawings he has produced deal with subjects as varied as schizophrenia and the eroticism of de Sade, Bataille, and Artaud, as well as visual interpretations of artists, poets, writers, scientists, musicians, and philosophers that have influenced his thinking. Arslan’s working process includes the use of self-made and antique tools and the production of his own colors using ancient methods of combining raw pigments with his own saliva, blood, urine, and other organic materials like honey, earth, and egg whites. Though Arslan has exhibited extensively in Europe and is well-known in Turkey, this exhibition in the Drawing Room, curated by Executive Director Brett Littman, will be the first survey of his work in the United States.

We would like to invite our members and friends to a private gallery tour, led by the curator of the exhibition, Brett Littman, Executive Director of The Drawing Center.

Tuesday, May 6, 6:00 - 7:00pm

The tour has a capacity of 20 people. Pre-registration is required. Tours are free and open to members and friends of The American Turkish Society and their guests; a donation of $25 is suggested to help support our arts & culture initiatives.

To become a member of The American Turkish Society, please visit our website at www.americanturkishsociety.org or contact us at 212.583.7614 or info@americanturkishsociety.org.

The American Society is pleased to invite you to the inaugural Levin Turkish Fulbright Series with Prof. Dr. Umit Cizre's lecture on "Making Sense of Contemporary Turkish Politics" at the Levin Graduate Institute of the State University of New York
May 7, 2008
5:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.
Presentation will begin at 5:30 p.m. followed by a reception at 7 p.m.

This event is free and open to all. Space is limited and pre-registration is required.Please RSVP by April 30 to Maryalice Mazzara, Ed.D. at 212.317.3500 or email, maryalice.mazzara@levininstitute.org

The American Turkish Society and Moon and Stars Project Present Crossing Borders: A Cinematic Journey from the West to the East
An In-Depth Conversation on GITMEK / MY MARLON AND BRANDO

Acclaimed documentary filmmaker Huseyin Karabey’s feature debut Gitmek / My Marlon and Brando makes its North American Premiere in 2008 Tribeca Film Festival’s World Narrative Feature Competition . Three years ago, in real-life, Hama Ali, a charismatic B movie actor from Iraq, and Ayca,a fiery actress from Turkey, met on a film-set. Their love affair continued across borders through video love letters until the war in Iraq. As people fled from East to West seeking safety, Ayca decided to make the journey from West to East, seeking her lover. My Marlon and Brando, a feature film in which Ayca plays herself, is based on her extraordinary and, ultimately unexpected, experiences in such sad, mad times….

Please join us for an in-depth conversation on crossing borders in real life, in filmmaking and cultural understanding with actress-writer Ayca Damgaci, Turkish-American journalist and filmmaker Bilge Ebiri, producer Lucinda Englehart, filmmaker Huseyin Karabey, and film critic Sukhdev Sandhu.

PANELISTS:
Having studied Dramaturgy and Theater Science at Istanbul University, Ayca Damgaci began her professional acting career at Tiyatro Oyunevi (Theater Playhouse) in 1998. She won the Best Actress Award for her performance in My Marlon and Brando at the 27th International Istanbul Film Festival. She is the founder and one of the lead vocals for “Gocebe Sarkilar” (The Nomadic Songs), a music band singing Sephardic, Roman, Armenian, Andalucian, Balkan, and Anatolian songs. Damgaci is currently rehearsing day and night for two theater productions by Bilsak Theater Atelier and Garaj Istanbul.

Bilge Ebiri is a Turkish American film critic and filmmaker. He writes about film for New York Magazine, Bookforum, and Nerve.com. His first feature film, a comedy thriller entitled New Guy, was released in 2004, and he is currently at work on his second.

Film producer, Lucinda Englehart, is based in London but works on co-productions around the world. Having studied Political Science at Cambridge University, she moved to Cape Town. Here, she wrote extensively on the experience of documentary subjects telling their stories of apartheid memory and produced a number of South African feature films and documentaries. She met Huseyin Karabey at the Venice Film Festival and having heard the extraordinary true story told in My Marlon and Brando, came on board to produce this feature film with him.

Regarded as one of the new directing talents in Turkey’s growing independent film scene, Huseyin Karabey developed My Marlon and Brando with Ayça Damgaci. His previous work includes Boran, a short film that explores the disappearance of 5,000 Turkish political activists in the 1990s by bringing together actual facts and dramatic elements, and the feature-length docudrama Silent Death. His documentary Breath was an exclusive look at Pina Bausch, the world-famous German choreographer. Karabey lectures at universities and cultural organizations in Turkey, and his films have won numerous awards.

Sukhdev Sandhu is the chief film critic of the London Daily Telegraph. He is a Contributing Editor at 'Granta', editor of the journal Texte und Töne, and author of London Calling: How Black and Asian Writers Imagined A City (2003) and Night Haunts: A Journey Through Nocturnal London (2007).

Moderated by Binnaz Saktanber, VP of Moon and Stars Project and a PhD student at City University of New York, Graduate Center, studying new media, democratization, and identity politics in Turkey and Middle East.

The American Turkish Society awarded its Annual Corporate Partnership Award to Jeffrey R. Immelt, Chairman and CEO of GE, and Ferit F. Şahenk, Chairman of Doğuş Group, at its 2008 Gala Dinner on April 16 at The Waldorf-Astoria in New York. The Gala celebrated the successful partnerships of GE and Doğuş Group in financial services and real estate, and their cooperation in media, in Turkey.

The 2008 Gala was attended by nearly 400 leading executives from both the American and Turkish business communities, as well as dignitaries from the U.S. and Turkish governments and select guests from the media, the arts, and academia.

The event raised over $700,000 to benefit The American Turkish Society’s educational, cultural and philanthropic programs. Charles O. Holliday, Jr., Chairman and CEO of DuPont, and David J. Stern, Commissioner of The National Basketball Association, served as Dinner Committee Co-Chairmen, along with Mrs. Ahmet Ertegün as Honorary Chairwoman. Distinguished guests included Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Vecdi Gönül, Defense Minister of Turkey, Ross Wilson, Ambassador of U.S. to Turkey, Baki Ilkin, Ambassador of Turkey to the U.N., Rahmi M. Koç, Honorary Chairman of Koç Holding, Jeff Zucker, President and CEO, NBC Universal, and Dr. Mehmet Oz.

ARIF MARDIN MUSIC FELLOWSHIP
Five-week Summer Performance Program at Berklee College of Music
July 12–August 15, 2008

Launched by The American Turkish Society in memory of Arif Mardin (1932-2006), world-renowned producer/arranger and vice chairman of the organization for many years, this music fellowship program aims to further the education of promising musicians from Turkey and give them a chance to study in the United States. For the Arif Mardin Music Fellowship, The Society partners with Berklee College of Music, where Mardin’s successful music career began as the first recipient of the Quincy Jones Scholarship.

The Arif Mardin Music Fellowship funds one student to attend the Five-Week Summer Performance Program at Berklee. The fellowship will cover all program expenses, plus a stipend of $500. Consideration for the fellowship will be based on merit and potential to benefit from the program in current or future music career. The first Arif Mardin Music Fellowship was awarded to Sirma Munyar, a talented, young pianist and vocalist from Turkey in 2007.

The Five-Week Summer Performance Program aims to develop the performance skills of musicians. Students play in ensembles, develop improvisational and reading skills, improve their technique in weekly private lessons, enjoy lectures/demonstrations by well-known faculty and visiting artists, and are exposed to the latest innovations in music technology. The program emphasizes the mastery of playing or singing skills in your chosen style of contemporary music: jazz, pop/rock, funk/fusion, or pop/r&b.

The application process:

1. Individuals of Turkish descent or nationality, over the age of 15, with a minimum of six months experience playing their instrument(singing), are eligible to apply.

2. Please complete the following materials and submit via mail, fax or email by April 15, 2008 to:

Office of Special Programs, Berklee College of Music
1140 Boylston Street, MS-155
Boston, MA 02215-3693
Telephone:617.747.2245
Fax: 617.262.5419
Email: summer@berklee.edu

* Standard application: http://www.berklee.edu/summer/5week4.html
* MP3 recording/link
* A 500-word statement in English outlining your interest in the program and how you expect your music career to benefit from it. Please include information on distinctions in your chosen music field, such as concert performances, awards, degrees, etc.

The fellowship recipient will be chosen by Berklee College of Music and notified by May 6.

OPEN CALL FOR STUDIO RESIDENCY SCHOLARSHIPS IN NEW YORK

The American Turkish Society is pleased to sponsor Moon and Stars Project's fourth annual School of Visual Arts New York Summer Residency Program

This internationally renowned program offers artists an opportunity to work intensively in a private studio, receive individual critiques from faculty, and attend weekly lectures given by guest artists, critics, and gallery directors.

The selected participant has exclusive use of a small studio located in School of Visual Arts’ Chelsea Building. Faculty will visit the studios Mondays through Thursdays. Exposure to the New York art world complements this on-site residency program. The cutting-edge galleries of the Chelsea art district are within walking distance of the SVA studios. The program culminates in an open studio exhibition, which enables the participants to present their work to the public.

The program will be sponsored by the Moon and Stars Project, The American Turkish Society and School of Visual Arts.

The application procedure and criteria are as follows:

1. The program is open only to emerging artists residing in Turkey who are not represented by a gallery.

2. The applications should be received by April 14, 2008 at the following address:

Ayca User

One Independence Court, Apt. PH03 Hoboken, NJ 07030 USA

3. The application package should include the following;

Applications lacking any of the following will automatically be eliminated. The applications will not be returned.

All documents in the package should be 8.5” x 10”.

a. 15-20 print-outs of recent work (Please, No slides, discs, big photo albums, published books or any other format than print-outs of images)

b. A list of the included recent works (name of the work, dimensions, year, materials used)

c. Artist’s statement in English

d. CV (in English and stating date of birth)

e. Optional: press clippings or other materials showing artistic activity. (No catalogs please)

The scholarship winner will be selected by the School of Visual Arts, who will also provide the studio free of charge. The Moon and Stars Project and The American Turkish Society, will sponsor the expenses listed below.

1. Round trip air fare

2. Accommodations

3. Stipend ($500)

4. Materials ($500)

5. Visa application expenses

6. One-month unlimited metro card

7. Transportation from and to the airport in New York

The winners will be announced April 30th, 2008.

For inquiries: grants@moonandstarsproject.org

The American Turkish Society is pleased to collaborate with The Barnard Center for Research on Women (BCRW) on a new course studying gender relations and social change in Turkey.

Gender and Social Change in Turkey through Cinema
with Ayça Alemdaroglu
Thursdays, 6:00 – 8:00 PM
(02/14) 03/20, 04/17, 05/08
324 Milbank Hall, Barnard College
Fee: $ 120
ATS members’ rate: $100

Film provides a rich lens through which culture can be analyzed and debated. This course will look at gender relations and social change in Turkey through cinema. Films that represent gender relations and women’s living conditions in rural and urban contexts will be viewed and discussed. Among the themes for our conversation will be rural to urban migration, the politics of modernization, consumption culture, “individualization” and feminist movements. Film, gender and Near Eastern studies enthusiasts are all welcome.

Ayça Alemdaroglu is a PhD candidate in Sociology at the University of Cambridge and a visiting scholar at New York University. She studies gender, youth, culture and politics in Turkey and the wider Middle East.

To register, call 212.854.2067 or mail your check (made to Barnard College) to:
The Barnard Center for Research on Women 3009 Broadway, New York, NY 10027

Please include a note on your check if you are a member of The American Turkish Society. We will verify your membership with BCRW. If you have any questions about your membership, please call The American Turkish Society at 212.583.7614 or email info@americanturkishsociety.org .

The American Turkish Society is pleased to support the Annual Investment Conference of DEIK/ Turkish-US Business Council (TAIK), "Turkey: Beyond 2008," to be held on March 17, 2008 at New York Palace Hotel in New York City.

As improved macroeconomic trends, continuity of single party government, reformist policies, and strategic location all add up to an investment rush into Turkey, "Turkey Beyond 2008” will analyze the current state of affairs in the economy and corporate world as well as provide an outlook on upcoming opportunities.

The conference will focus on the future of Turkey as an investment destination, the role of the private sector and the emerging sectors namely; Healthcare, Real estate, Telecommunication, Agriculture. The aim will be to analyze the business and investment environment, and address developments in private equity in post-election Turkey.

H.E. Mehmet Simsek, the new Turkish Minister in charge of the Economy as well as senior private and public sector representatives are going to contribute to the discussions.

Sponsored by: GE Money, ATA Invest, Garanti Securities

Please find conference details and registration information for guests of The American Turkish Society in the documents below. Registration fees are $250 for ATS guests and $200 for ATS Corporate Members.

To become a corporate member of The American Turkish Society, please download the membership form below or contact info@americanturkishsociety.org or call 212.583.7614.

The American Turkish Society
in collaboration with Barnard Center for Research on Women
Presents a Panel Discussion on

Gender and Power in Turkey

Dr. Selma Acuner,Ankara University and KA-DER

Diba Nigar Goksel,European Stability Initiative

Moderated by Ayca Alemdaroğlu,New York University

In commemoration of International Women's Day on March 8, this panel discussion will examine the changing gender relations and women's living conditions in the recent decades in Turkey. It will address the political, socio-economic and cultural dimensions of the current gender regime and the diverse living conditions of women across social classes, regions, and the urban-rural divide.

Dr. Selma Acuner is a political scientist at the Women Studies Center of Ankara University. She is the co-founder of KA-DER, a civil-society organization that supports and trains women candidates for politics and serves as the EU Affairs Coordinator.

Diba Nigar Göksel is a Senior Analyst of the Berlin-based think-tank ESI (European Stability Initiative) and Editor-in-Chief of Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ). She has extensive knowledge on women’s changing rights and status in Turkey. Most recently she carried out a full year of research for the much-debated study Sex and Power: Feminism, Islam and the Maturing of Turkish Democracy.

Ayça Alemdaroğlu is a PhD candidate at the University of Cambridge and a visiting scholar at New York University. She studies gender, youth, culture and politics in Turkey and the wider Middle East. She is currently teaching a class called “Gender and Social Change in Turkey Through Cinema” at Barnard Center for Research on Women

Space is limited. Pre-registration is strictly required.

Please register online below, or download and fill out the registration form and fax to 212.583.7615 by Monday, March 3rd at 5 pm. For questions, please email info@americanturkishsociety.org

The American Turkish Society, in collaboration with The Jamestown Foundation, Presents a Discussion on

U.S.-Turkish Relations and Northern Iraq

Gareth Jenkins , The Jamestown Foundation

Dr. Hüseyin Bağcı, Middle East Technical University, Ankara

Dr. John C.K. Daly, The Jamestown Foundation

Gareth Jenkins has been based in Istanbul since 1989, working as a journalist, author and analyst. He writes extensively on political, economic and security issues related to Turkey and the surrounding region. In 2001, he published a monograph on the political role of the Turkish military, entitled Context and Circumstance: The Turkish Military and Politics. His book on political Islam in Turkey, entitled Political Islam in Turkey: Running West, Heading East? (Palgrave Macmillan), will be published in spring 2008. Gareth Jenkins is a regular contributor to Jamestown publications.

Dr. Hüseyin Bağcı is Professor of International Relations at Middle East Technical University in Ankara, and Vice Chairman of the Center for European Studies. In 1988, he received his Ph.D. in Political Science from the Rheinische Wilhelms University in Bonn. He has published several books and many articles on Turkish foreign policy and Turkish-German relations. Dr. Bağcı is a syndicated columnist for the Turkish Daily News in Ankara and a TV commentator for various media outlets.

Dr. John C.K. Daly received a Ph.D. in 1986 in Russian and Middle Eastern Studies from the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University of London, and is currently a Eurasian foreign affairs and defense policy analyst for The Jamestown Foundation. He has also been a commentator on current events for CNN, the Hudson Institute, the Middle East Institute, Press TV, National Public Radio, White House Chronicle, Al-Arabiyya, and the Christian Science Monitor, along with being a contributing editor for Vanity Fair on terrorism. Dr. Daly has also addressed CIA, NSA and DIA audiences on terrorism.

Space is limited. Pre-registration is strictly required. Jacket & Tie required. This event is closed to the press.

To register, please download and fill out the registration form below and fax or mail it to The American Turkish Society by Friday, February 22nd at 5pm. For questions, please email info@americanturkishsociety.org or call 212.583.7614.