Background
She was born in Istanbul, and spent her childhood in different regions of Turkey.
She was born in Istanbul, and spent her childhood in different regions of Turkey.
In 1947, she started to attend to the studio of Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu at the Academy of Fine Arts Istanbul, which she finished in 1953.
She also joined The Group Ten. Her first exhibition took place in the Gallery "Maya" in Istanbul (1953). Beside the participation in concerts and folkloric arrangements e.g. in Italy, she also worked as a voice artist and acted in the film Yurda Dönüş.
After 1954 she completely devoted herself to painting.
Her paintings were shown in special exhibitions of the State Museum for Painting and Sculptures Istanbul and the Biennale for Young Artist in Paris. 1979 she was invited to the Netherlands, where her pictures were exhibited in different museums and galleries in Deventer, Hague and Rotterdam for the duration of one year.
Her paintings are found in public and private collections in Germany and the Netherlands, in the Istanbul Museum of Painting and Sculpture, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the city administration Istanbul, the University of Istanbul and the Umjetnicka Galerij in former Yugoslavia. In the last years of her life, she worked in her private studio in Foça, Izmir Province.
She died at the age of 82 in Foça on July 24, 2012.
Çokay was married and had a son.
Between 1950 and 1953 she was a member of the State Choir for Turkish folk music under the direction of Nedim Otyam.