TCF is is now accepting applications for its 2013 Cultural Exchange Fellowship. Established in 2012, the TCF Cultural Exchange Fellowship aims to support international exchanges between artists, as well as professional working in fields related to the arts and culture. 20 individuals received the Fellowship in 2012 and participated in a wide range of cultural and artistic programs. The application deadline is February 15, 2013. For more information, please visit the TCF website.

TCF opened its Turkish Culture Portal to public contributions. Visited by millions of people around the globe, the TCF Turkish Culture Portal is the highest ranking internet portal on Turkish culture. TCF invites everyone interested in sharing knowledge about Turkish culture to become a contributor by editing existing articles, adding new articles and pictures to hundreds of topics featured on the portal.

The TCF Natural Dyes Research and Development Laboratory (DATU) released a collection of 30 colors of natural organic lake pigments. The DATU Pigment Collection is the largest such collection and represents the first of its kind produced from dye insects and dye plants indigenous to Turkey. For more information, please visit here.

Dr. Nurhan Atasoy, TCF Senior Scholar in Residence, was one of six featured authors at the Smithsonian Institute Arthur M.Sackler Gallery’s 25^th Anniversary celebration’s Asian Art and Culture Book Fair on December 1, 2012 in Washington, DC. Dr. Atasoy also gave a lecture at the Textile Museum in Washington, DC on November 28, titled “In the Sultan’s Gardens: Ottoman Gardens and the Decorative Arts.” Both events were co-sponsored by TCF, under the TCF Lecture Series in Turkish Culture and Art program.

The TCF Lecture Series in Turkish Culture and Art, organized by the TCF Istanbul office, hosted a presentation by Dr.Lale Babaoglu Balkis, professor at Bosphorus University on December 5. Dr.Balkis’ presentation presented vivid literary and architectural examples of how the image of Turks was shaped in Austria during the 16^th-18^th centuries. The second December lecture was presented on December 6, by Prof.Dr.Machiel Kiel of Utrecht University who provided a comprehensive overview of how Christian places of worship and art that was not only survived but thrived under Ottoman rule in the Balkans.

In January, the lecture series will feature Dr.Johann Pillai, Director of Sidestreets Educational and Cultural Initiatives on “The Lost Turkish Pavilion of Expo 58,” and Prof.Dr.Gul Irepoglu of Istanbul University who will present a lecture on Ottoman Imperial Jewelry (“Osmanli Sarayi’nda Mucevher-Mucevher uzerinden tarih okumak.”) Prof.Irepoglu’s new book on the subject has just been released.  For more information on upcoming TCF lectures, please visit here.

The November lecture videos have now been added to the TCF Video Gallery.

The TCF Culinary Arts Center (Yemek Sanatlari Merkezi - YESAM) in Istanbul hosted the second lecture as part of its Rumeli cuisine lectures, titled “From Rumeli - Macedonian Cuisine: Marking the 100^th Anniversary of the Balkan Wars.” The lecture was presented by Nedim Atilla, with a food tasting prepared by the chefs of Nar Lokanta and Kevser Aydogdu, who is of Macedonian Turkish descent. The third lecture in this series will take place in January and focus on Albanian cuisine.

YESAM will host a second lecture in December, titled “Christmas Traditions in Santa Claus’ Homeland: Christmas in Anatolia” by Nedim Atilla. For more information on YESAM events and to watch videos of past lectures, please visit the YESAM website.

TCF sponsored a US tour by Gripin, one of the most popular pop-rock bands in Turkey, and Twenty7, an ethnic rock band based in Los Angeles with Turkish roots. The concert series began in New York on December 1 and included concerts in Boston, Washington, DC, San Diego, San Francisco and Los Angeles.