The Moon and Stars Project was founded in 2002 in New York. It is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to highlighting the changing face of Turkish arts and culture and establishing a two-way cultural interaction between the United States and Turkey. Growing out of MayFest, a month-long festival first started in May 1999, the Moon and Stars Project is now an organization that presents year-round programs. Our initiatives have drawn an outpouring of support from the community, both in the United States and in Turkey, and from local and international organizations. Each year we have grown as an organization and initiated more ambitious programs and events. What started out as a little festival has come a long way.

The Moon and Stars Project is an organization devoted to promoting and fostering greater cultural interaction between the United States and Turkey. We are dedicated to building bridges between communities, artists, institutions, and cultures through our support of the arts and through cultural initiatives.

The Moon and Stars Project promotes cultural interaction through projects such as arts and culture festivals, concerts, performances, exhibitions, conferences, grant programs, multimedia productions, publications, and broadcasts. We are dedicated to supporting and encouraging the finest in traditional and contemporary forms of artistic expression, and providing artists with the support and funding required to stimulate their artistic development and to facilitate interaction between Turkish and American artists, professionals, and institutions.

Through a ceaseless focus on the integrity of the projects we support and collaboration with other cultural organizations and like-minded institutions, we are committed to broadening cultural horizons and ultimately spreading our mission and forging a global identity. The Moon and Stars Project believes that in order to truly facilitate contemporary and unbiased dialogue between cultures we must remain independent of politico-cultural associations and institutions. Although our focus is on highlighting Turkish arts and culture, we are dedicated to being an inclusive organization and do not discriminate based on nationality, race, sex, religion, sexual orientation, or political affiliation.

HIGHLIGHTING the changing face of Turkish arts and culture;

INITIATING cultural exchange and interaction through film festivals, traditional and contemporary musical and artistic forms of expression, and various cultural events;

ENCOURAGING and supporting the collaboration, networking, and interaction of Turkish and American artists, institutions, and professionals engaged in the fields of art, music, literature, film, and other forms of artistic expression;

SUPPORTING artists by funding their work, establishing cultural exchange and competitive grant programs, and providing artists with the opportunities and venues to showcase their talents;

PROVIDING information, networking, referrals, and resources on Turkish arts and culture and cultural institutions;

BROADENING CULTURAL HORIZONS and fostering mutual interest, understanding, and respect for cultural differences through two-way artistic and cultural exchange.

The Moon and Stars Project is currently comprised of four departments which each have unique agendas, but share a common work ethic and vision – dreaming big and working hard to make those dreams come true. Working year-round and at times, round-the-clock, we boast a staff of 60 unpaid, but dedicated and professional volunteers, who are committed to making the Moon and Stars Project the preeminent Turkish arts and culture organization.

Through the production of high-quality festivals that attract interest from diverse cross-sections of the community, our Festival Department’s mission mirrors that of the Moon and Stars Project. Through events such as MayFest, the Festival Department seeks to bring the American and Turkish communities together through fun and exciting events and to make a mark on the multicultural mosaic that is America.

The Visual Arts Department of the Moon and Stars Project focuses solely on projects that involve the visual arts – painting, sculpture, video, photography, installations, and mixed media. The goals of the Visual Arts Department include promoting and fostering the professional collaboration, networking, and interaction of Turkish and American artists; building bridges between the American and Turkish art scenes; and providing artists with the support, exposure, funding, and access to venues needed to reach new audiences and gain international recognition.

The Grants Department is another first for the Moon and Stars Project, and for the Turkish-American community as a whole. This department is focused solely on funding artists through a grants program – competitively awarded grants for burgeoning artists, exhibition awards, and merit-based grants for established artists. Designed to promote greater two-way cultural exchange, these grants will provide artists with the funds to travel to either Turkey or the United States, facilitate their exposure to artistic trends, stimulate and encourage their artistic development, and allow for networking and collaboration with the local artistic community. In addition, the Grants Department is interested in working with like-minded organizations to initiate cultural exchange and participate in international residency programs.

In building bridges between cultures, cinema is a particularly powerful tool that transports audiences to distant places, but at the same time reflects the universality of certain human experiences, dramas, and emotions. What better way to promote cultural exchange and understanding? Building on this idea, our Cinema Department uses the power of film festivals and retrospectives to expose audiences to the developments taking place in Turkey, aims to introduce American audiences to Turkish films, and hopes to ultimately secure distribution for Turkish films in the United States.