ON 30 April 2023, Turkish Cypriot Cultural Association celebrated its 45 years of service with the participation of Consulate of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in London Namik Cafer, Heritage Lottery Fund representative Cris Vasconselos Ferreira, Hackney Councillors Soraya Adajera, Zoe Garbett, and Grace Adebayo, Hackney Archives representative Elizabeth Green, representatives from various Turkish-speaking organisations, and its service users.
Hosted by the TCCA president Turker Chakici, trustee Halil Salih, and coordinator Gülnur Salih, the event took place at TCCA premises at 14A Graham Road, London, E8 1BZ.
In addition to a brief presentation on the history of the association, there was an exhibition of artwork including wood painting art on trays and mats and silk cocoon art made during the workshops held at TCCA.
As part of its “Turkish Cypriots in London” Heritage Project, funded by Heritage Lottery Fund, TCCA also held an “Intergenerational Story-Telling Contest” with the participation of students from Hornsey Ataturk Turkish School and Rauf R Denktas Turkish School. The winner Gulsen Erisir (Rauf R Denktas Turkish School) received her prize from coordinator Gulnur Salih.
The celebrations continued with live music with Turkish instruments Ud, kanun and violin and also Turkish food.