21st Aydın Doğan Award goes to Neş'e Erdok

The 21st Aydın Doğan Award has been granted to Turkish contemporary painter Neş'e Erdok, according to the Aydın Doğan Foundation.

The award, which has been issued since the establishment of the foundation in 1996, aims to encourage and reward individuals who have committed their careers to contributing to humanity in the fields of arts, science and culture.  

To date, the award has been issued to individuals and institutions who have excelled in, or contributed significantly to, fields such as novel writing, social sciences and the humanities, visual arts, poetry, history, music, archaeology and architecture.

Born in Istanbul in 1940, Erdok studied painting under Neşet Günal at the State Academy of Fine Arts in Istanbul. 

Between 1965 and 1966, she studied Spanish language and literature as well as the history of Spanish civilization and art at the Escuela Eutral de Idromas and the Escuela Diplomética in Madrid. 

She was subsequently sent to France by the Education Ministry for training to join the faculty of the State Academy of Fine Arts. Erdok learned painting, fresco and stained glass at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts. 

In 1974, her first detailed exhibition was held in Istanbul. Erdok received the title of professor in 1981.
 Paintings by Erdok, who has participated in more than 100 joint exhibitions, can be found in private collections in Turkey and abroad.