The Cyprus Museum of Modern Arts, the foundations of which were laid at the Near East University Campus and which was scheduled to open its doors to public on 15 November 2020, held a press meeting and delivered information about the "Sculpture Contest " to be held for artists from 14 Turkic states to design the sculpture to be exhibited at the entrance of the museum. The artist to design the sculpture best depicting the culture, history and art of the Turkic republics will be the winner of the contest and awarded with 10 thousand dollars.

The Directorate of Press and Public Relations Office of Near East University released that Acting Rector Professor Fahreddin Sadıkoğlu, vice Rector Associate Professor Murat Tüzünkan, Dean of Faculty of Fine Arts and Design Professor Erdal Aygenç, Plastic Arts Department Chairman Yücel Azgın and Görkem Bulunç, the Acting Director of the Cyprus Museum of Modern Arts, attended the press meeting held at the Orange Hall at the Faculty of Communication.

Delivering the opening speech of the meeting, vice Rector Associate Professor Murat Tüzünkan stated that an international contest was initiated and delivered information about the university's vision of art. The Acting Rector Professor Sadıkoğlu delivered detailed information about the Sculpture Contest to be held for artists to design the sculpture to be exhibited at the entrance of the Cyprus Museum of Modern Arts. In her remarks, Cyprus Museum of Modern Arts Acting Director Görkem Bulunç delivered information about the museum, which will open its doors to public in 2020. In his remarks, Professor Erdal Aygenç, the Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts and Design, talked about the workshops and exhibitions that were planned and held by the museum.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tüzünkan: "We move along the Way towards Making Life-Long Art Learning Sustainable..."
In his opening remarks, vice Rector Associate Professor Murat Tüzünkan stated that Near East University with her innovative vision, since its establishment in 1988, had realized many firsts and breakthroughs in all domains of education, science, sports, arts and health by achieving outstanding accomplishments at national and international platforms and by fulfilling many significant services by hosting numerous significant national and international scientific, sporting, artistic and cultural events.

Underlining that Near East University had become a respectable university in our country and region with her scientific studies and with her social, sporting, cultural and artistic activities, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tüzünkan stated that Near East University attached a great importance on the collaboration for arts and education, which has an important role in transforming the society.

By referring to "Art is Long, Life is Short", the aphorism by the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tüzünkan said: "This quote tells us that although life is over, arts lasts for centuries and left as a heritage to the future. As Near East University, we have adopted an innovative education concept in visual arts, design, architecture, sports, music, dance and theater. In this framework, we have brought the Cyprus Museum of Modern Arts, Cyprus Car Museum, Cyprus Turkish National History Museum, Maritime Museum and Herbarium Museum into a being in order to make art last for centuries and remain as cultural heritage to the future”. Expressing that the Cyprus Museum of Modern Arts aims to unveil the country's modern art accumulation, Associate Professor Tüzünkan stated that the museum had the mission of building a bridge connecting the country's arts and culture with the arts and culture of 14 Turkic states and communities.

Associate Professor concluded his remarks by indicating that they would continue to exert effort for eternalizing the art by nourishing it with the rich aesthetic accumulation of folk culture and daily life within the frame of lifelong learning, which is the process of changing, affecting, transforming, improving and empowering people's lives in a positive way intentionally and methodically.

Prof. Dr. Fahreddin Sadıkoğlu: "The Sculpture to Reflect the Culture, History and Art of Turkic Republics will be designed..."
Indicating that the Cyprus Museum of Modern Arts had been created via the vision and ideas of the Founding Rector Dr. Suat Günsel, the Acting Rector Professor Sadıkoğlu shared the information regarding the establishment process of the museum.

Expressing that it was a part of the architectural project of the museum to erect a statue, which would reflect the entire Turkic World, at the entrance of the museum, Professor Sadıkoğlu stated that they would organize a sculpture contest. "The sculpture contest will be a 10 thousand dollar prize contest, which will be open for the artists from 14 Turkic states. The sculpture designed to reflect the art, history and culture of 14 Turkic states will be constructed to cover an area 6 meters in diameter” said he.

01 August, 2019 is the Deadline for the Applications...
Indicating that mails had been sent to painters of all Turkic Republics and the Union of Painters, Professor Sadıkoğlu stated that they also demanded a sketch reflecting their own ideas from Turkic origin or foreign artists living in Europe. “The sketches, which will be submitted until 01 August 2019, will be assessed by the jury consisting members from 14 Turkic states. The top 20 sketches to be selected by the jury will be put on the website of Cyprus Museum of Modern Arts to enable the entire world to vote and select the best sketch. The sculpture to be designed in accordance with the top-voted sketch will be a bronze, stone or granite one and it will be erected at the entrance of the museum” noted he.

10 Thousand Dollars will be awarded...
Expressing that the artist, who would win the contest by designing the sculpture to be constructed at the entrance of the museum, would be awarded with 10 thousand dollars, Professor Sadıkoğlu noted that 30 works to be assessed by the Selective Committee would be exhibited at the museum. He also added that the artists, whose works would be deemed eligible to be exhibited at the museum, would be awarded with various prizes.

Two Turkish Cypriot Artists take part in the Selective Committee Consisting of 30 Jury Members...
Expressing that Mustafa Hastürk and Yücel Yazgın, two Turkish Cypriot artists, would take part in the Selective Committee, Professor Sadıkoğlu stated that the contest results would be announced within a month after 01 August 2019, the deadline for applications.

Cyprus Museum of Modern Arts, which has hosted various exhibitions so far, aims to enhance its collection up to 20 Thousand Artworks till 2020...
Indicating that Cyprus Museum of Modern Arts, the foundations of which were laid on 01 August 2018, would be the largest modern arts museum of the Near East geography, Görkem Bulunç, the Acting Director of the Cyprus Museum of Modern Arts, stated that the museum would play host for symposia and conferences relevant to the world of art.

Expressing that the museum was scheduled to open its doors to public in 2020, Görkem Bulunç stated that the museum continued to host the art lovers in its temporary building on the university campus. "The museum has organized 27 art workshops with the participation of more than 200 artists from Turkey, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Tatarstan, Kazakhstan, Bashkortostan, Georgia and Kyrgyzstan. Consequently, 16 workshop exhibitions and 2 solo painting exhibitions were opened" said he.

Stating that the museum collection currently consisted of 6,000 artworks, Görkem Bulunç underlined that they aimed to enhance the collection of the museum up to 20,000 artworks till the opening of the museum on 15 November 2020. "The Cyprus Museum of Modern Arts, which will be one of the largest and most comprehensive art museums in the world, will undertake an entire vision and will shed light on the culture and history of the 14 Turkish States and will convey this historic, artistic and cultural heritage to future generations" noted he.

More than 100 Workshops will be organized by 2020...
Highlighting that universities were the leading institutions of the societies and geographies, in which they carried out activities, Professor Erdal Aygenç, the Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts and Design, stated that Near East University had already proven her leading role by achieving outstanding accomplishments in education, health, sports and art.

Expressing their pride of being a part of a university building up museums, Professor Aygenç stated that the artworks that created by using different techniques by different artists from different countries depicted different apps and experiences. "Such artworks depicting different experiences and different practices are great richness in terms of providing contribution to art education. Hosting art workshops and observing the creation of artworks through different techniques also provide contribution to the students that involved in art" said he. Professor Aygenç concluded his remarks by stating that they predicted to host more than 100 workshops till the opening of the museum in 2020.