Organized under the leadership of the Femin&Art International Female Artists Association in the northeastern province of Trabzon, the eighth International Painting Festival welcomes 40 female artists from 20 different countries, including Ukraine, Russia, Iran, Japan, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. The artists convened at the festival's opening ceremony in Meydan Park Atatürk Square and unfurled their national flags along with that of the Republic of Turkey. Speaking at the ceremony, Femin&Art International Female Artists Association President Şükran Üst stressed that art is a field where artists fictionalize a better world and said that peace is a concept that every contemporary artist ponders. "It is impossible to think that an artist would be indifferent to the problems of society in a world where people spiritually crashes due to poverty and war," Üst said. She claimed that a peace, which is not established with consolidated concepts, is doomed to fail, and added: "The artist yearns for a world without war. We can make peace sovereign by using the magical language of art." The festival will continue in various venues in Trabzon, Rize and Georgia's Tbilisi until July 29.When: Until July 29Where: Trabzon, Rize and Tbilisi