Aydın Doğan Award presented to Neş'e Erdok

The 21st Aydın Doğan Award was granted to Turkish contemporary painter Neş'e Erdok on May 9 at a ceremony. 

"Painters are not used to talking too much. Our art is a silent one. One needs to visit museums or exhibitions in order to hear its voice. Or they can be seen in houses of art lovers. This award is a very meaningful one in the last period of my life," Erdok said during her speech at the ceremony.

The award ceremony was held at the Hilton Hotel Ballroom in Istanbul. Violinist Gamze Ergönül and pianist Melin Molla performed a mini concert to the guests, among whom were the founder and Honorary Chairman of the Aydın Doğan Foundation and the Honorary Chairman of Doğan Holding, Aydın Doğan; his wife Sema Doğan; Aydın Doğan Foundation and Doğan Online Executive Board President Hanzade Doğan Boyner; Doğan Holding Executive Board President Begümhan Doğan Faralyalı; Aydın Doğan Foundation Vice President and Doğan Holding Executive Board member Vuslat Doğan Sabancı; and her husband Ali Sabancı, along with many others. 

A short film marking the 21st year of the Aydın Doğan Foundation was screened at the ceremony. 

Delivering the opening speech, Boyner said, "We give the Aydın Doğan Award to Neş'e Erdok, who has had a pioneering role in the world of painting. Without her, we cannot document the history of painting. She brought the melancholic physiognomy of Anatolian people to the city, redefining the reality. The theme of Erdok's painting is human; types of people are the axis of her art. With her works, Turkey proved its existence in humanity's journey of civilizations."

Boyner said she owed a debt of gratitude to Erdok. "Among us tonight we have artists who have supported the 'Dad Send Me to School' project. They did not...