London Yunus Emre Institute, in cooperation with London Central Mosque, hosted an event on Book Arts and Illumination on Saturday, August 6, with Calligrapher and Illuminator Ayten Tiryaki hosted as a speaker.

The event, organized within the scope of the Culture and Art Talks Series organized by the Yunus Emre Institute in London since 2017, started with the speech of Master Calligrapher and Illuminator Ayten Tiryaki. Tiryaki showed the application of illumination art to the participants, and Ayten Tiryaki's works were also exhibited at the event.
 
The event started with the opening speech of Dr. Ahmed Dubayan, London Central Mosque Director. He started his speech by thanking London Yunus Emre Institute for organizing this event. Dubayan emphasized how the art of illumination has a privileged place among the traditional Islamic arts from the past to the present. 

Dr. Dubayan continued his speech by mentioning the examples of illumination art in different nations and belief systems and expressed his deep admiration for the fine craftsmanship of illumination artists. 

THE ART OF ILLUMINATION EMERGED IN CENTRAL ASIA

After the opening speech of Prof. Dr. Dubayan, master artist Ayten Tiryaki took the participants on a journey through the shining history of illumination art. Ayten Tiryaki stated that the art of illumination emerged in Central Asia, reached Anatolia with the Seljuks, and reached its peak during the Ottoman Empire. The artist emphasized that the art of illumination, which is especially used in the decoration of the Quran manuscripts, reached its most productive and rich period in the 16th century. 

The artist also explained to the speakers through examples how this art was first practiced as a book art in the early days of its emergence and then transformed into a plate art with the widespread use of the printing press in the 20th century. 

Later in the event, Ayten Tiryaki exhibited examples of the artworks she designed during her 40 years of experience. The artist emphasized the subtleties of illumination art, the different techniques used in this art, and the importance of using real gold in this art. 

The talk ended with a practical demonstration of the painting of illumination patterns using different painting styles of two different techniques used in illumination, such as classical illumination and halkar painting.  

After the end of the speech and presentation, the event continued until the late hours of the night with the opening of a selection of Ayten Tiryaki's works to the public and artful conversations between the artist and the participants.  

THE FIRST FEMALE CALLIGRAPHER TO RECEIVE CALLIGRAPHY LICENSE IN TURKEY

Born in Ordu, Ayten Tiryaki graduated from Ankara University Faculty of Theology in 1983 with a master's degree. After continuing her studies on classical arts in Istanbul, which she started in Ankara in 1978, Tiryaki started to take calligraphy lessons from Calligrapher Hasan Çelebi in 1983.  Ayten Tiryaki made history in 1989 as the first female calligrapher to receive a calligraphy license from Hasan Çelebi. In 1984, the artist started illumination courses at Kubbealtı Academy and continued her illumination studies with Prof. Dr. Çiçek Derman and İnci Ayan Birol and received her illumination license. 

Many of the works of the artist, whose works are in many collections, were also printed as books and plates. The artist, who participated in various exhibitions in Turkey and abroad, has many awards.

The artist, who retired in 2004 after 20 years of teaching in Quran courses affiliated with the Presidency of Religious Affairs in Üsküdar and Ümraniye, gave licenses to many students in the fields of calligraphy and illumination. Ayten Tiryaki continues her art works with her students in Istanbul.