KÜSAV, the Foundation for Fine Arts and Cultural Heritage, is a charitable trust set up by Çiğdem Simavi, its current President. The principal aim of the trust is to preserve Turkey’s artistic and cultural heritage by actively promoting national and worldwide interest in the country’s traditions. More specifically, the Foundation aims to :

• Make Turkish people better aware of their rich cultural heritage
• Promote appreciation of the historical development of the Arts in Turkey
• Work with governmental and public sector institutions to conserve and restore Turkey’s cultural and artistic past
• Increase public awareness of the role of Art in daily life
• Enable students and researchers to pursue their studies in the broad field of the Arts
• Award scholarships for further studies abroad
• Cooperate with international bodies to promote foreign participation in Turkish cultural events
• Encourage suitable international sponsorship in the field of Turkish Arts

In order to achieve some of these aims, KUSAV organizes exhibitions, lecture programmes and tours , whose proceeds are used to fund various projects and activities. A list of forthcoming lectures and tours can be obtained by clicking on the relevant icons.

Hereafter are some of the special events organized by KUSAV over the past 15 years:

• 1987 Topkapi Palace:
  Exhibition of Tombaks (guilded copper vessels) from Ottoman times
• 1988 Topkapi Palace:
  Textiles from the Topkapi Collection
• 1990 Yildiz Palace:
  Exhibition of Susanis from a private collection
• 1991 Alay Kiosk, Topkapi Palace:
  Exhibition of Sharkoy-Pirot Carpets
• 1992 Alay Kiosk, Topkapi Palace:
  Ebru (Marbling) Exhibition and Paintings by Ertuğrul Ateş
• 1993 Alay Kiosk, Topkapi Palace:
  Contemporary Tulip Vase Design
• 1994 Hareket Kiosk, Dolmabahce Palace:
  Calligraphy Exhibition Turkish and Central Asian Carpets Auction in aid of Mimar Sinan University
• 1995 Yildiz Palce:
  Bedia Guleryuz Retrospective
• 1996 Alay Kiosk, Topkapi Palace:
  Flowers of Fire – Traditional Turkish porcelain and ceramics
• Tolerance and Mevlana
  Turkish premiere of a documentary film on the Father of Sufism
• 1997 Alay Kiosk, Topkapi Palace:
  Lineage, exhibition of Sufi Calligraphy
• 1998 Dolmabahce Cultural Centre:
  Exhibition of the Earliest Female Artists of the Republican Era
• 1999 Dolmabahce Cultural Centre:
  Works of Art and Antiques Auction
  

Please Contact us for more information and details.