Osman Özçay

Master calligrapher Osman Özçay (b. 1963, Çaykara, Turkey) joined his master calligrapher brother Mehmet Özçay in 1982 to learn the art of Islamic calligraphy.

After first visiting master calligrapher Fuat Başar in the early years, Osman developed a sudden and deep attraction to the art and began lessons in the Thuluth script the same day.

In the first (1986) and second (1989) international competitions organized by IRCICA which serves as the secretaryship of The Commission for the Preservation of Islamic Cultural Heritage associated with the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, he received five awards, gaining second and third prizes in various scripts including Jali Thuluth and Thuluth. He won the first prize at the calligraphy competition organised by the Maktab al-Shahid Kuwaiti institute in 1997.

Osman Özçay has participated in exhibitions with his brother Mehmet Özçay in Istanbul (1996), Abu Dhabi (1998), Sharjah (1999), and Dubai (2003). He has also taken part in the exhibitions organized by IRCICA in association with the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing in Dubai 2003, 2004 and 2005. In 2003, he participated in the calligraphy exhibition in Tokyo and joined other calligraphers on The Days of Arabic Calligraphy in Tunisia in 1997 and 2006.  

Osman Özçay is producing works in the styles of Jali Thuluth, Naskh and Muhaqqaq according to the classical approach. Throughout the years his pieces of calligraphy have entered museums and special collections.

Fatma Özçay

Master illuminator Fatma Özçay (b. 1970, Gerede, Turkey), is the youngest member of the Özçay family and bases her work on classical styles of illumination practiced in the sixteenth century, reinterpreting them in a contemporary context.

In 1987, she was encouraged by her brothers to enrol in illumination classes at the Kubbealtı Culture and Art Foundation, where she became the student of Prof. Fatma Çiçek Derman. She advanced rapidly thanks to her innate abilities as well as her brother Mehmet Özçay's close attention and dedicated support. Her firm and precise control of the brush, as well as delicate and meticulous workmanship, brought her into prominence.

In addition to private shows together with her brothers Mehmet and Osman Özçay, she has participated in many exhibitions both within and outside of Turkey. Since 2008 she has been teaching at the Foundation for Turkish Classical Arts, working to share with her students the benefits of her own experience.

Much of her illumination work is in conjunction with her brothers' calligraphic works.