Osman Hamdi Bey was a Turkish artist born in 1842 in Istanbul who established the first school of fine arts in Istanbul and served as its director for 28 years. One of his most famous and creative works is "The Turtle Trainer", which uses the metaphor of a man trying to educate turtles to represent the difficulty of social change and a stubborn society resisting westernization. The document then discusses art projects created by students exploring Osman Hamdi Bey's work through various mediums like pastels, fabrics, collage, and more.