Turkish scholar awarded for earthquake art

ISTANBUL

A visual arts PhD candidate supported by the Turkish Education Ministry has won the prestigious “Excellence” award from Florida State University in the U.S. for her acrylic painting “Destruction,” which captures the essence of the Feb. 6 earthquakes in Türkiye’s southern provinces.

Sena Öztürk, a 31-year-old PhD candidate, will have a lifelong place in the university's prestigious honor collection for her extraordinary work, which vividly depicts the aftermath of the Kahramanmaraş earthquake. It will also be featured in a year-long exhibition to cement her impact on the art world and commemorate the resilience of the earthquake-affected community.

In 2022, Özturk was also recognized for her depiction of the Fox Hill Tower, a poignant symbol of American history.

Following the 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude earthquakes that claimed the lives of more than 53,000 people and caused massive destruction in several regions, the 11 southern provinces were previously declared disaster zones.