President Gul honors trio's contributions to Turkish culture

International award-winning film director Nuri Bilge Ceylan, calligraphy and gilding artist Ugur Derman, and Sabanci Holding Chairman Guler Sabanci, representing the Sakip Sabanci Museum (SSM), were honored yesterday at the 2009 President's Culture and Art Grand Awards ceremony at the Cankaya Presidential Palace. President Abdullah Gul bestowed the cinema award upon Cannes festival prize-winner Ceylan, while the award for traditional arts was given to Derman, a professor who has lectured at Marmara and Mimar Sinan universities. The institution award was given to Istanbul's SSM. Speaking at the ceremony, Gul said that the rapidly changing world has seen many developments, particularly in technology and the economy. "But if the only developments mentioned are technological and economic growth, this is a bit dull," he said. "If the artistic, cultural and intellectual aspects of a country are also improving while that country develops, this is a sign that the country in question is truly developing." The award is given to both Turkish and foreign nationals as well as institutions which make important contributions to Turkish art and culture, aiming to honor them in the name of the state and to encourage such contributions. Gul hands out the awards in various branches of culture and art each year, and a committee including such notable figures as columnist Dogan Hizlan and literary historian Iskender Pala suggests the branches and candidates to be recognized. Citing Ceylan's acceptance speech at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival for the Best Director award for "Uc Maymun" (Three Monkeys), in which the director said he dedicated the prize to his "lonely and beautiful country" which he loves passionately, Gül said, "These words moved the entire Turkish nation. … But as a statesman today I can say that our country is no longer lonely. Turkey has many supporters abroad." Gul also praised the Sakip Sabanci Museum for its achievements in private museum management, saying that it has enormously served Turkey's cultural life by bringing world-class exhibits to Istanbul.