Jury President, Istinye University Faculty of Communication Faculty Member and Istanbul Ex-libris Association President Prof. Dr. Hasip Pektaş expressed his feelings with the words, "With the valuable contributions of individuals and organizations devoted to art, the love and interest of artists, the heart of art will continue to beat at Istinye University. And so will ex-libris."
The 6th International Ex-libris Competition, organized in collaboration with Istinye University, Selçuk Pharmaceutical Warehouse, Bozlu Art Project and Istanbul Ex-libris Association, achieved great success with the intense participation of artists from all over the world. While 540 artists from 34 different countries participated in the competition with a total of 1340 works, the fact that Istinye University students also took part was a separate source of pride.
As a result of the jury evaluations, 14 artists received awards, 14 artists were honored with honorable mentions and 28 artists were honored with certificates of honor. In addition, 214 artists' works were deemed worthy of exhibition. During the evaluation process, the originality of the works, technical and aesthetic competence, and the relationship between painting and writing were prioritized. The countries with the highest number of participants in the competition were Turkey, Russia, Poland, the Republic of China, Bulgaria, Italy, and Argentina, respectively.
The Awards Found Their Owners
One of the most prestigious awards of the competition, the İstinye University First Place Award was unanimously given to Russian artist Mikhail Verkholantsev for his unique style and convincing works. The Selçuk Ecza Deposu Second Place Award went to Bulgarian artist Onnik Karanfilian for his engraving ex-libris with strong patterns, while the Bozlu Art Project Third Place Award was presented to Bulgarian artist Marin Gruev for his ex-libris that draw attention with their fine details. The Istanbul Ex-libris Association Young Artist Award was awarded to Emre İnan for his competence in printmaking and promising works.
The competition also awarded the Medical Park Special Award to Igor Baranov (France), the AveA Health Special Award to Ivo Mosele (Italy), the Liv Hospital Special Award to Christine Deboosere (Belgium), the Glana Cosmetics Special Award to Valerio Mezzetti (Italy), the Tülay-Şükrü Ertürk Special Award to Wang Yu (China), the Ayşe-Noyan Ünal Special Award to Martin R. Baeyens (Belgium), the Ayfer-Zeki Tutkan Special Award to Gennady Vial (Belarus), the Özden Pektaş Turgut Special Award to Elzbieta Radzikowska (Poland), the Gülcan-Salih Apaydın Special Award to Yulia Protsyshyn (Ukraine) and the Hatice-Hasip Pektaş Special Award to Julieta Virginia Warman (Argentina).
Award Ceremony and Exhibition Opening in August
The award ceremony and exhibition opening of the competition will be held in the Conference Hall and foyer area of the Istinye University Vadi H Campus within the scope of the 2nd International Ex-libris Congress to be held on August 20-24, 2025. The organizers hope that the exhibition will bring new excitement to the world of ex-libris, inspire especially young art lovers and make significant contributions to the spread of this art form.
Source: https://www.haberler.com/yazarlar/zuhal-sonmezer/sanatin-kalbi-istinye-universitesi-nde-atti-uluslararasi-ekslibris-yarismasi-na-yogun-ilgi-4449/