Cultural Awareness Foundation (CAF) implemented a project between September 2011 – May 2012 involving the cleaning of artsworks in the public spaces of Istanbul and its archeological sites. The first work for this purpose was a large-scale environmental cleanup of the area around the Byzantine Church of St. Polyeuktos in Saraçhane, by collecting the rubbish and removing the weed in the area.
The second task was the cleaning of the sculpture “Yankı” (Echo) by the artist Hüseyin Anka Özkan, which is one of the statues erected for the 50th year of the Republic of Türkiye at the Gümüşsuyu Park, but was covered with rust after so many years that passed. The cleaning started on September 11, 2011 and was successfully completed by our Foundations volunteers under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Üzlifat Özgümüş, member of our Board of Trustees, and the restorators Serra Kanyak and Özden Çelik.
Next year Atilla Onaran’s statue “Ballerina” in front of the Galasataray Han was cleaned by art history and restoration students under the supervision of restorator Serra Kaynak.