“Fine Arts 2023 End of Year Exhibition” organized by the Cyprus Museum of Modern Arts and “Dr. Suat Günsel Mosque Photography Exhibition” was opened at the Near East University Atatürk Culture and Congress Center Exhibition Hall with the participation of the Minister of Economy and Energy Olgun Amcaoğlu. The winners of the Suat Günsel Mosque Photography Contest have also been announced at the opening of the exhibition.
Cyprus Museum of Modern Arts bid farewell to 2023 with the opening of the “Fine Arts End of Year Exhibition” and “Dr. Suat Günsel Mosque Photography Exhibition”. Completing 2023, when the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was celebrated, with 21 exhibition openings, the Cyprus Museum of Modern Arts opened its 453rd exhibition in total.
The “Fine Arts End of Year Exhibition”, which was opened with the participation of the Minister of Economy and Energy, Olgun Amcaoğlu, brought together the works made by the artist academics of the Near East University Faculty of Fine Arts and Design and the artists of the Cyprus Museum of Modern Arts, with art lovers. The works of the winners of the photography contest organized for Dr. Suat Günsel Mosque, which will be opened on January 11, 2024, met with the art lovers at the “Dr. Suat Günsel Mosque Photography Exhibition”.
The winners of the Dr. Suat Günsel Mosque Photography Contest have been announced!
Dr. Suat Günsel Mosque will be opened for worship on January 11, 2024 as the largest worship center of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The winners of the photography contest organized for Dr. Suat Günsel Mosque were also announced at the exhibition opening. In the contest, where more than 60 professional and amateur photographers participated with 200 works, 49 works were deemed worthy of being exhibited, three works were entitled to receive achievement awards, and one work received a special jury award and another one received honorable mention.
As a result of the evaluation made by the jury consisting of Head of Near East Enterprises Museums Department Prof. Dr. Ali Efdal Özkul, Dean of Near East University Faculty of Fine Arts and Design Prof. Dr. Erdal Aygenç, Deputy Dean of Near East University Faculty of Communication Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ayhan Dolunay, President of the Turkish Cypriot Photography Association Ramadan Gümüşok and photographers Buket Özatay and Mustafa Evirgen, the works of Tunahan Ateş, Burak Önel and Abtullah Sayar were deemed worthy of the achievement award. In the competition, Ayla Merttürk was deemed worthy of the Special Jury Award and Şerif Özege was deemed worthy of the Honorable Mention Award with their photographs.
49 works by 30 names were deemed worthy of exhibition.
Among the 200 works participating in the Dr. Suat Günsel Mosque Photography Contest, 49 works were selected by jury evaluation; Ahsan Chaudhary (2 works), Abdullah Sayar (2 works), Arif İşgüzar, Ayla Merttürk (3 works), Bagdat Sarsen, Burak Önel, Cem Melih (3 works), Dudu Şimşek, Duyal Tüzün Hoca, Erdoğan Uzunahmet, Fazilet Avukat, Hadi Tohidi Khanlar (3 works), Hakan Aksoy, Hasan Ahmed Oudah, Mojtaba Pourezzat, Mücella Erçal Kıran, Nevzat Akçagil, Nilhan Uzun, Nuray Aslan, Olcayto Sevinçli (2 works), Osamah Hasan (2 works), Said Saidoğlu, The works of Şaziye Kofalı Kurt, Şefika Karaderi, Şerif Özege (5 works), Sinem Akın Kılıç, Tevfik Ulual, Tunahan Ateş, Vasfi Kuni (4 works) and Veysi Canateş (3 works) were deemed worthy of exhibition.
Opening speeches of the exhibition were made by Near East University Rector Prof. Dr. Tamer Şanlıdağ, Minister of Economy and Energy Olgun Amcaoğlu and Near East University Faculty of Fine Arts and Design Dean Prof. Erdal Aygenç. After the speech, the awards were presented by Olgun Amcaoğlu to the winners of the “Suat Günsel Mosque Photography Contest”.
Olgun Amcaoğlu: “This country desperately needs the Near East family and institutions like it in order to survive.”
In his speech at the opening of the exhibition, Minister of Economy and Energy Olgun Amcaoğlu emphasized the great responsibility undertaken by the Near East University and stated that they felt the importance of this responsibility at every opening. Minister Amcaoğlu said, “We need the Near East Enterprises and institutions like it in order for this country to survive.”
Referring to the importance of representing the TRNC internationally with its academic and artistic achievements, Amcaoğlu emphasized the importance of Near East University’s achievements in this field. Minister Amcaoğlu, pointing out that the Dr. Suat Günsel Mosque will be opened for worship, said, “This work is a symbol of what the Günsel Family has contributed to this country.”
Continuing his speech, Minister Amcaoğlu emphasized that Near East University not only meets today’s needs but also carries out innovative studies and grows to meet future needs, and stated that these efforts play an important role in the maintenance of the existence of the TRNC and said, “I’m glad to have you.”
Prof. Dr. Tamer Şanlıdağ: “Saying goodbye to 2023 with art contains not only the aesthetic beauty we are in, but also deep meanings.”
Near East University Rector Prof. Dr. Tamer Şanlıda started his speech by stating that art and science feed each other and carry humanity further with every new beginning and said, “Art and science keep the creativity and curiosity of human beings alive. Therefore; “Saying goodbye to 2023 with art contains not only the aesthetic beauty we experience, but also deep meanings.”
Prof. Dr. Tamer Şanlıdağ said, “In this special year in which we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Turkey and the 40th anniversary of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, as Near East University, we have left behind a year full of awards in academic, scientific and sports fields and further strengthened the leading role we have assumed in science, technology and art. We have made a name for ourselves with the many projects we have carried out.”
“Our Artificial Intelligence-Based Professor DUX, who started teaching as an instructor this year, is the most striking example of this. The development of AI Professor DUX has enabled Near East University to be among the leading universities in the world in this field. This success gave the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus the privilege of being the first country, after the USA, to actively use artificial intelligence in the education process.”
Reminding that Near East University is among the best universities in the world according to many international higher education institutions, Prof. Dr. Şanlıdağ also emphasized the “2023-2024 World University Rankings” recently announced by URAP, which operates within the Middle East Technical University Informatics Institute. Prof. Dr. Şanlıdağ said, “We were included in the list of URAP, which evaluated 3,000 universities around the world, as the best university not only in the TRNC but also in Cyprus. We were shown as one of the top 10 universities among the 119 universities from Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus that took part in the research.”
Prof. Dr. Şanlıdağ also mentioned Dr. Suat Günsel Mosque and said “The opening of Dr. Suat Günsel Mosque will take place on January 11 with a ceremony worthy of its name, which will bring together statesmen from many Muslim countries, especially Turkey. The mosque, which is a great monumental work with 6 minarets, 62 domes and a capacity of 10 thousand people, will take its place in our history as the 6th mosque with 6 minarets in our region.”
Prof. Erdal Aygenç: “Creating artwork combines personal expression by challenging judgments and believing that ideas are valuable.”
Dean of Near East University Faculty of Fine Arts and Design, Prof. Dr. Erdal Aygenç started his speech by emphasizing the positive effects of art on individuals. “Art gets rid of the monotony of routine life, invites us to different experiences and directs us to think about the deep questions of life. At the same time, it enables us to passionately confront our prejudices.” said Prof. Erdal Aygenç, adding “In a period of increasing conflicts and political polarization, art offers the opportunity to question, imagine and establish dialogue. “Because art shows that every subject can be looked at from different perspectives and allows multiple meanings to emerge.”
Stating that what makes great artists impressive and inspiring is their endless urge to question and understand, Prof. Aygenç said, “Creating artwork combines personal expression by challenging judgments and believing that ideas are valuable. It means entering into a process of creation without fear of failure. Artist lives with his work and feels it in his bones until he puts the finishing touch on it.”
