Swissôtel The Bosphorus, Istanbul & 20 Turkish Contemporary Artists join forces to support AÇEV...

Dear readers,

Tis' the season for all sorts of exhibitions that are being organized around Istanbul - from the streets (Stars of Istanbul - see earlier post) to major museums and galleries (i.e. The Biennale) to even a hotel! In fact, some of these exhibitions are being organized to support a variety of charitable organizations. Personally, I support any charitable organization that strives to make life better for those less fortunate, but when kids and animals are involved, I take my support one step further and do whatever I can to help promote the
organization(s) - let it be through personal donations or posts such as this!

This post is about such a cause and by "even a hotel", I mean the 5-star deluxe Swissôtel The Bosphorus, Istanbul (www.swissotel.com) located on sprawling green lawns in Maçka overlooking the magnificent Bosphorus strait and Asian side of the city.

First, I would first like to say HAPPY HAPPY 20TH BIRTHDAY SWISSÔTEL! Yes, it was 20 years ago that the hotel opened in Istanbul. A few months ago I was delighted to be invited to their 20th year celebrations which was a major success. I am also proud to count Gerhard Struger, GM, Yeşim Doğukan (Director of Marketing & PR) and a whole host of other staff members as friends and acquaintances. I had the opportunity to work closely with the hotel management during my tenure as the General Manager & Editor-in-Chief of The Guide Magazines and we have kept up our friendship throughout the years.

Without getting into the "behind the scenes", in cooperation with the Municipality of Şişli and as part of the Swissôtel's 20th year celebrations, an exhibit titled "20 angles for the future" to support AÇEV - Mother Child Education Foundation (www.acev.org), in coordination with Sinpa Inc. went on display in July.

So, here's what happened... 20 prominent Turkish contemporary artists (Adem Genç, Ahmet Oran, Alaattin Aksoy, Bedri Baykam, Bubi, Devrim Erbil, Ergin İnan, Ertuğrul Ateş, Gülay Semercioğlu, Hafize Uncuoğlu, Haluk Akakçe, İrfan Okan,İrfan Önürmen, Mevlüt Akyıldız, Mustafa Ata, Özdemir Altan, Suzan Batu, Şahin Paksoy, Temür Köran, Yusuf Taktak) happily agreed to participate by each designing a sculpture using the "hat" in the word "o" in Swissôtel. Now, the name of the exhibit makes more sense right? 20 artists, 20 angles and Swissôtel's 20th birthday!

Adem Genç

Bedri Baykam



Devrim Erbil

The exhibit was not only located at the hotel, but also on Abdi Ipekçi Street in Nişantaşı and Kanyon, City's Nişantaşı and Akmerkez shopping malls: in August, the entire exhibit was moved to the Swissôtel.

Ergin Inan

Hafize Uncuoğlu

Mevlüt Akyıldız

As I mentioned earlier, all the artists were more than happy to be part of this very worthwhile exhibit in support of AÇEV. You can read more about this foundation from their website, but to quote their "mission and vision"

"The Mother Child Education Foundation (ACEV), founded in 1993, is a Turkish non-governmental organization which has vast research, program development, program implementation and advocacy experience in early childhood and adult education. Through strategic partnerships, ACEV has been able to reach hundreds of thousands of beneficiaries with its scientifically-based training programs."

Also, to date (once again quoting from their website), AÇEV has:

trained 7,000 trainers and through them served 609,000 people through long-term, face-to-face education programs aimed at children, families and illiterate women

reached 7,500,000 viewers through television programs aimed at children, families, and women

reached an estimated 40,000,000 people through publications, research, and mass-media advocacy activities.



Şahin Paksoy

Haluk Akakçe

Currently, all of these inspirational and innovative sculptures are on display at the Swissôtel and on Saturday, October 22nd, starting at 3:00pm will be auctioned off to the highest bidder at the hotel. Antik AŞ is organizing the auction and all are welcome to participate in the auction! Most importantly, all the proceeds from sales will be donated to AÇEV.

Some of the faces behind this very important cause are below - kudos to all who have contributed - pictured or not!

Hatice Süren (Sinpa AŞ), Yeşim Doğukan (Marketing & PR Director - Swissôtel), Mustafa Sarıgül (Mayor - Şişli Municipality), Hilal Kuşcul (AÇEV), Gerhard Struger (GM - Swissôtel), Ayşe Zorlu (Sinpa AŞ), Tuba Ezeroğlu (Kiraz PR) - from left to right 

Also as part of the festivities surrounding the 20th birthday of Swissôtel and to further build awareness for the exhibition - Swissôtel has organized a contest which you can participate via their facebook page!

The contest runs through October 21st and all you have to do is visit their page on facebook (http://on.fb.me/mVjlhs) and answer any one of the two questions posted at 10:30am and 3:30pm to qualify (it's only available in Turkish). You can answer a question every day until the 21st to increase your chances of winning. At the end of the contest, 20 lucky winners will receive a dinner for two at Gaja Motto (private room next to Gaja Restaurant). Then, among the 20 winners, one person will be picked in a drawing to receive a one night's stay for 2 at the hotel!

Good luck to everyone!

Dani