Turkish Cultural Foundation

TCF GRANTS/FELLOWSHIPS - TCF continued to be a leading private grantmaker in the area of Turkish cultural preservation and promotion. In 2016, TCF provided a total of $143,042 in grants and fellowships to organizations and individuals. A major portion of the TCF grants underwrote cultural events, such as cultural and film festivals, workshops, exhibitions, concerts and other performances in the United States and other countries, which brought Turkish culture to thousands of art lovers. Two TCF Fellowship programs help build artistic, cultural and scholarly exchanges across the globe. Combined, the TCF Fellowship in Turkish Culture and Art and the TCF Cultural Exchange Fellowship have provided funding to 192 culture professionals, including musicians, visual and performing artists, writers, curators, scholars and many others. In 2016, 16 individuals benefited from these fellowships to participate in a variety of cultural and artistic showcases, as well as academic events in a variety of countries and in Turkey.

TURKISH EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH - Under the TCF Lecture Series, 15 lectures on Turkish culture, art and cuisine took place at the TCF Istanbul branch office and the TCF Culinary Arts Center with a total participation of 389. The lecture videos, made available on the TCF Video Gallery, were viewed 7,115 times by visitors from all over the world. In addition, TCF scholars participated in international conferences, workshops and other events throughout the year and shared their knowledge with audiences across the world. The TCF Portals, gateways to learn more about Turkish culture, music and cuisine, were visited by over 3.95 million people from 240 countries and regions in 2016, spreading knowledge about Turkeys cultural heritage. The TCF Education Portal was launched in 2014 with a view to providing an online resource for educators who wish to teach about Turkey. The website lists over 100 free lesson plans on Turkey, ranging from history to geography, womens rights, the environment, culture and many contemporary political and economic issues. Prepared by participants of the TCF Teacher Study Tours to Turkey, the lesson plans have been downloaded nearly 6,000 times and enabled educators who wish to teach about Turkey to access accurate information in a format that conforms with U.S. curriculum standards.

TCF PROGRAMS AND GRANTS CULTURAL EXCHANGES - The TCF Culinary Arts Center (YESAM) and the TCF Cultural Heritage Preservation and Natural Dyes Laboratory (DATU) in Istanbul continued their work on preserving and promoting Turkeys culinary and textile heritage. DATU and YESAM scholars work year-round to advance the mission of TCF through research, publications and seminars, as well as collaborations with other institutions. A significant part of DATUs work is dedicated to helping cultural institutions conserve and restore historical artefacts. In 2016, DATU provided pro bono analytical services to two institutions and three museums in Turkey.

Tcf continued to research, document, preserve, and promote turkey's heritage through the work of preservation, cutural lectures series and virtual gallery.