TCF has awarded a publication grant for the book More Than Oriental Splendor: Exchanges in Dress, Design and Culture in the Mediterranean World During the Ottoman Era by Dr. Charlotte Jirousek. The book, which is the result of 15 years of international research by Dr. Jirousek, examines the history of dress and fashion in the broader context of western relationships with the Ottoman Empire and the Mediterranean world through the modern era. Dr. Jirousek was a scholar of costume history and professor and curator in the Textiles and Apparel Department at Cornell University, and she devoted her career to studying vanishing textile techniques firsthand in Turkey and to the study of Turkish influence on Western dress. The book will be published by the University of Indiana Press in the fall of 2017.

Dr. Recep Karadag of the TCF Cultural Preservation and Natural Dyes Laboratory-DATU participated in “Workshops Past, Present and Future of Traditional Turkish Arts” organized by the Republic of Turkey’s ATATÜRK Supreme Council for Culture, Language and History at the Atatürk Culture Centre in Ankara, Turkey on March 10-11, 2017. He gave a presentation entitled“ The importance of scientific methods and techniques in the preservation of cultural heritage”.

Makam New York's program Turkish Story Time, supported by a TCF grant, continues to present weekly programs in New York City. Turkish Story Time brings children and their caregivers together to learn about Turkish culture through reading stories in Turkish, learning songs, rhymes, and riddles, introducing instruments and advancing literacy. The program is recorded the first Saturday of every month at 4:00 pm at Book Culture on Columbus in New York City and is open to the public. The recordings, stories and materials are available on Makam New York’s website.

Musician Umut Adan (TCF Cultural Exchange Fellow-2017) is recording his album at the renowned Toe-Rag Studios in London, England. He is the first artist from Turkey invited to record materials at Toe-Rag Studios. He is working with Grammy Award winner producer Liam Watson, who produced The White Stripe’s Elephant album, which contains the well-known song “Seven Nation Army.”

Media artist and director Refik Anadol (TCF Cultural Exchange Fellow-2013) was recognized by Turk of America Magazine as one of the 2017 “40 Under 40 Most Influential Turkish-Americans” at a gala in New York City on March 17, 2017.

Roberley Bell (TCF Cultural Exchange Fellow-2015) ran a workshop entitled "Walking as Learning to See” at the American University of Sharjah School of Architecture on March 4-24.

Özgür Demirci (TCF Cultural Exchange Fellows - 2014) held an exhibition with Fraser Stewart entitled "Sudden Stop" at the Corridor Project Space, which opened March 10, 2017 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The exhibition remains open until April 7, 2017.

Suraiya Faroqhi (TCF Academic Fellow-2015)  participated as a keynote speaker at the "Rethinking Late Ottoman Civilization Symposium." held at the University of Texas at Austin on March 24-25.

Dr. Özgen Felek (TCF Academic Fellow-2008) gave a talk on "Occult Texts in Murad III’s Court at the Dawn of the Second Islamic Millennium" at the “Magic and the Occult in Islam and Beyond” conference that held at the The MacMillan Center - Yale University in New Haven, CT - USA on March 2-3.

Jazz musician Ferit Odman (TCF Cultural Exchange Fellows - 2012), performed as “Ferit Odman Quintet” at Salon IKSV on March 24. He also performed at the “İhtimaller” with Kenan Doğulu on his new jazz project concert tour in Ankara, Kayseri, İzmir, Mersin and Konya between March 7-17.

Oud virtuoso Mehmet Polat (TCF Cultural Exchange Fellow-2016) has released a new album Ask your heart, a mix of sounds from the Middle East and Balkans to Africa and Latin America and featuring the Mehmet Polat Trio. In addition to Mehmet Polat on the oud, Dymphi Peeters plays the kora and Sinan Arat the ney.

Esra Sağlık (TCF Cultural Exchange Fellows - 2015) was featured in the "AUFTAKT Rhythm Section" exhibition at  European House of Art Upper Bavaria - Schafhof, which opened February 20, 2017 in Freising, Germany with 17 participating artists. The exhibition remains open until April 17, 2017.

Emrah Şahin (TCF Academic Fellow-2014)  participated in the “Rethinking Late Ottoman Civilization Symposium” and  presented his paper titled, “Taken Hostage in Ottoman Lands: Imperial State Responses to Miss Stone Affair, American Missionaries, and Public Disorder,” held at the University of Texas at Austin on March 24-25.

Dr. Mehmet Ali Sanlıkol (TCF Cultural Exchange Fellow-2012) a composer, singer, performer, and scholar, held the performence of his coffeehouse opera “Othello in the Seraglio” at the Emerson/Paramount Center in Boston, MA - USA on March 2.

Ayşe Gül Süter (TCF Cultural Exchange Fellows - 2016) was featured in the "On Botany" exhibition at  BLOK art space, which opened January 17, 2017 in Istanbul with 10 participating artists. The exhibition remains open until March 10, 2017.