NEWS

Each year, Eurovision Song Contest unites music lovers in more than 40 countries.

This year the song contest was canceled amid coronavirus pandemic. However, fans of music contest had a great a chance to enjoy a spectacular show "Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light",  featuring 41 songs of this year's entries.

During the show, Azerbaijan's Eurovision 2020 participant Samira Efendi thrilled Eurovision fans with song "Cleopatra", which reached more than four million views on YouTube.

As the singer says, Cleopatra is a song about trusting your gut instinct, standing up for yourself and being a "Queen" - even when things get tough and especially if someone betrays or hurts you.

"It is truly a song about freedom, a celebration of all cultures and all sexualities and it's a song that is meant to inspire people to be who they are and to be proud of themselves - just as Cleopatra was. She was a queen who went through love, heartbreak, and betrayal, but she stood up for herself and is now remembered as an icon of strength and femininity," she said.

The singer will take part in the next year's contest to be held in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

In the end of the show, Eurovision 2020 artists  performed the song "Love Shine A Light" song, which left no one indifferent.

Notably, Azerbaijan marked its debut in 2008 with the duo of Elnur and Samir, who managed to become eighth in the final with their song "Day after day".

The brilliant duet of Aysel and Arash, which represented Azerbaijan next year, took the third place at the song contest, while Safura Alizada, who represented the country at Eurovision 2010 in Oslo, became fifth.

On its fourth attempt with Ell and Nikki's "Running Scared" song, the Land of Fire won the event, bringing the contest to Baku’s Crystal Hall in 2012. Ell and Nikki were the first mixed-gender duo to win the contest since 1963 and the first winners from Azerbaijan.

It is noteworthy that Azerbaijan reached the Top 5 in five consecutive contests - 3rd in 2009, 5th in 2010, 1st in 2011, 4th in 2012, and 2nd in 2013.

In 2018, Aysel Mammadova brilliantly performed at Eurovision 2018 semi-final, but she couldn't make it to the final. The singer represented Azerbaijan with the song "X My Heart".

Azerbaijan's Chingiz Mustafayev impressed all Eurovision fans with his stunning performance last year.  The singer finished in the eighth place at the song contest.

Each year since 1977, the world community marks International Museum Day on May 18. Initiated by the International Council of Museums (ICOM) , the event aims at raising awareness among the public of the essential role played by museums in cultural life.

International Museum Day 2020 is taking place under the theme "Museums for Equality: Diversity and Inclusion" to celebrate the diversity of perspectives that make up the museum community, and champion tools for identifying and overcoming bias in what they display and the stories they tell.

The Day is a great occasion to enjoy museums. Let`s see how the country`s best museums and art hubs celebrate this holiday:

Azerbaijan National Art Museum

Founded in 1937, the National Art Museum thrills  art connoisseurs with fascinating examples of decorative-applied arts, multiple paintings of Azerbaijani, Italian, Russian, French, German and Polish painters in various styles.

On International Museum Day 2020, the museum presents a virtual exhibition of stunning art works by partially sighted or visually impaired children. Young talents are students of Republican Special Boarding School No. 5 and the Rehabilitation Center. Their paintings were created  during master classes conducted by professor of the Tbilisi Academy of Arts Georgi Guraspashvili as part of an International Seminar “Art without Borders”. The virtual exhibition is available on the museum`s social networks: Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum

Famous for its extensive rug collections,  Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum will host international online conference on the topic “Museums for Equality: Diversity and Inclusion”.

The first part of the conference will start at 2 pm Baku time with participation of Chair of the Network of European Museum Organizations (NEMO) David Vuillaume, director at “Entertainers Ltd” Barbara Lisicki (UK) and director, International Centre for Inclusive Cultural Leadership, Anant National University, Former Vice President, ICOM, Paris, Amareswar Galla.

The online conference will be moderated by the director of the Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum  President of ICOM Azerbaijan National Committee, Shirin Melikova.

The second part of the online conference will start at 3 pm Baku time, bringing together the directors of the Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum, Azerbaijan National Art Museum, National History Museum, State Museum of Azerbaijan Musical Culture, Independence Museum of Azerbaijan, Jafar Jabbarly State Theater Museum, YARAT Contemporary Art Center, Old City Museum Center, Gobustan National Historic and Artistic Reserve, House Museums of Sattar Bahlulzade, Tahir Salahov, Jafar Jabbarly, maestro Niyazi and others. 

Azerbaijan State Museum of Musical Culture

Azerbaijan State Museum of Musical Culture  presents its collections in three languages (Azerbaijani, English and Russian) to a wide audience under the headings "Listen to what we have" and "Visual Arts in the Azerbaijan State Museum of Musical Culture".

The Old City Museum Center

The Old City Museum Center (Icherisheher) has prepared a video titled "Promoting Inclusive Education through Traditional Arts" about the first program of inclusive professional education for art and creative expression in the field of culture.

The project is implemented by the Old Museum Center in partnership with European Union and the United Nations Development Program.

In addition, the Old City Museum Center and National Museum of Georgia will hold an international Zoom conference titled "Ancient museum work in the most modern times" dedicated to the International Museum Day (May 18). 

The conference will provide insight into international experience of historically and geographically close neighbors. The round table will also discuss the prospects of cooperation between Icherisheher Museum Center and National Museum of Georgia.

Maiden Tower

This year is marked with the 20th anniversary of Icherisheher's inclusion (together with the Shirvanshahs' Palace Complex and Maiden's Tower) in the UNESCO's World Heritage List.

In this regard, the Old City Museum Center presents the Maiden Tower - architectural monument through the "World Heritage 3D Scanning" program.

This virtual tour is for the first time ever presented with information desks in two languages on all floors, a visualization of panoramic view of the city from the top of the tower and a link for virtual tour of embed code that can be placed on the website.

The project is implemented in collaboration with Germany based company EKМ Global Consulting GmbH. (www.ekmgc.de) and startuper on cultural heritage Sabina Zulalova (sabinazulalova.com).

YARAT Contemporary Art Space

Supported by Baku’s Main Cultural Department, YARAT Contemporary Art Space  invites you to enjoy its urban multimedia project.

During the event, exclusive collection of artworks will be presented to the public and viewers. The project provides insight into museum collections and exhibition projects of different historical periods and dedicated to various topics.

Art exhibits will be represented by Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum, Museum of Azerbaijani Painting of the XX-XXI Centuries, Hungarian National Museum, Daugavpils Mark Rothko Art Centre (Latvia), Fashion Museum (Latvia), YARAT Contemporary Art Space and etc.

Thanks to the latest modern technology it is now possible to cover more audience. Artworks from the collections and exhibition projects from a number of museums will be presented to residents of quarantined cities all over the world, while demonstrating video projections of their living environment. Viewers will be able to become acquainted with museum exhibits while observing the show from the windows and balconies of their apartments, broaden their outlook and reflect on artistic creativity, without leaving their homes #evdeqal (#stayhome).

The partners of project  include PLATFORM Art, Yasamal district executive power, The Embassy of Hungary, The Embassy of Latvia, Goethe-Zentrum Baku and Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum.

Events of Night of Museums multimedia project will be highlighted on YARAT`s digital platform.

Azerbaijan National Museum of History

On International Museum Day, Azerbaijan National Museum of History has prepared  a virtual project "One Touch - A Thousand Values" aimed at  promoting the museum.

As part of the project, the head of the museum’s ethnographic science foundation, Ph.D. in art criticism Sevinj Nasirova will take part in "Dikdaban" show, aired on İctimai TV (Public TV). The museum expert will cover such topics as protection of cultural heritage and upcoming joint activities with other museums.

Gobustan National Historical and Art Reserve

Gobustan National Historical and Art Reserve has announced a campaign "Be depicted on Gobustan rocks!".  Those who wish to join the action can share their photos taken in Gobustan in the reserve's Facebook and Instagram pages. Moreover, a meeting with the ceramics artist Mir Teymur Mammadov will be broadcast  today on Facebook.

Azerbaijan Independence Museum

Azerbaijan Independence Museum will conduct an online tour "Equality" for vulnerable groups of society on May 18 at 12.00 on Zoom platform.

The main goal of the museum is to highlight national independence movement of Azerbaijan at different stages of historical development. The museum stores rare documents, numismatic collections, works of art and other exhibits.

Jafar Jabbarly Theater Museum

Jafar Jabbarly Theater Museum  will surprise the viewers with the programme "The World belongs to all of us", including a virtual exhibition of paintings by children with autism spectrum disorders from a group at the "Birge ve Saglam" Public Association and a live broadcast of "Blue Bird" play on  social networks.

House-Museum of Jafar Jabbarly 

The Jafar Jabbarly House-Museum will showcase "Morning star" photo exhibition, featuring unique historical exhibits stored in the museum, as well as photographs reflecting successful projects and events implemented by the museum over the past years.

Khachmaz and Masalli Historical and Local Lore Museums

Khachmaz Historical and Local Lore Museum holds an online contest of paintings "The Mysterious and Magical World" among schoolchildren under the motto "Museums for Equality: Diversity and Inclusion" and "My Exhibit". Students send their drawings to the competition, the theme of which is their favorite museums or exhibits, as well as their photos. The contest winners will be awarded with diplomas and various gifts.

Furthermore, Masalli Museum of History and Local Lore will hold a virtual presentation "The Past and Present of Our Folklore" by the Khalai Folk Music and Dance Ensemble on Facebook.

Museums are invaluable and their importance is difficult to assess. Museums have always been the main cultural institutions/organizations to perform the most important cultural functions. Indeed, museums are deemed to be the physical guardians of the history and culture, spiritual and material values of humanity, secrets and mysteries of society. Every museum is a place where people can feel themselves to be a part of the global events, appreciate and get inspired by the antiquities that have been extant to our time, enjoy being alone with themselves, put their thoughts in order, and meditate, while contemplating the beauty of the world around them.

Each year, on May 18, all the museums in the world celebrate International Museum Day. The most striking tradition of this event is the world-famous Night of Museums, during which museums extend their working hours and prepare unusual events for their visitors.

Due to the COVID-19 /Coronavirus Pandemic, international cultural event Night of Museums (also known as Long Night of Museums) is forced to adapt to global trends and for the first time will be held in an unusual format.

On May 18, YARAT Contemporary Art Space, with the support of the Baku’s Main Department of Culture, intends to conduct an urban multimedia project.

 

During the event, exclusive collection of artworks will be presented to the public and viewers will be able to learn a lot of new and interesting information about museum collections and exhibition projects of different historical periods and dedicated to various topics. Art exhibits will be represented by Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum, Museum of Azerbaijani Painting of the XX-XXI Centuries, Hungarian National Museum, Daugavpils Mark Rothko Art Centre (Latvia), Fashion Museum (Latvia), YARAT Contemporary Art Space and etc.

Thanks to the latest modern technology it is now possible to cover the more audience. Artworks from the collections and exhibition projects from a number of museums will be presented to residents of quarantined cities all over the world, while demonstrating video projections of their living environment. Viewers will be able to become acquainted with museum exhibits while observing the show from the windows and balconies of their apartments broaden their outlook and reflect on artistic creativity, without leaving their homes #evdeqal (#stayhome).

Partners of project will be PLATFORM Art, Yasamal district executive power, The Embassy of Hungary, The Embassy of Latvia, Goethe-Zentrum Baku and Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum.

Events of Night of Museums multimedia project will be highlighted on the digital platform of YARAT.

On the occasion of 18 May - International Museum Day, "Icherisheher" Museum Center under the Administration of the State Historical-Architectural Reserve "Icherisheher" for the first time ever presents the Maiden Tower - architectural monument through the "World Heritage 3D Scanning" program, "Icherisheher" Museum Center told.

The project was implemented in collaboration with Germany based company EKМ Global Consulting GmbH. (www.ekmgc.de) and startuper on cultural heritage Sabina Zulalova (sabinazulalova.com).

This year is highlighted with the 20th anniversary of Icherisheher's inclusion (together with the Shirvanshahs' Palace Complex and Maiden's Tower) in the UNESCO's World Heritage List. In this regard, "Icherisheher" Museum Center has launched a new project, such as a scan of the cultural and historical heritage of the Old City, starting with the Maiden Tower.

The World Heritage 3D Scanning programme is a visualization and documentation of historical monuments, where special files are created for the digital archive of cultural heritage site. A DWG file is a 3-D file for any 3-D Software.

This software stores data in digital media that can be professionally used to rebuild and restore an object if a monument or object is collapsed as a result of a cataclysm while scanning at full size.

3-D (360°) virtual tour on Maiden Tower is for the first time ever presented with information desks in two languages on all floors, a visualization of panoramic view of the city from the top of the tower and a link for virtual tour of embed code that can be placed on the website.

 

In the field of cultural heritage management, in which the accuracy and professional documentation of data on sites is very important, the availability 3-D scanning plays an exceptional role. This function creates more accurate and detailed data about the monument, will assist in future conservation and restoration work, and will have a major impact on further archaeological research.

Maiden Tower, the first 3D Scanned monument, is the most majestic and mysterious architectural monument of Baku's historical buildings. Maiden Tower is 28 meters high on its northern side and 31 meters high on its southern side. The walls are 5 meters thick.

The appearance of the tower conforms to a cylindrical shape completed by the counterfort of the same height with the construction. The eight storeys are separated from one another by stone flooring and connected by means of stone staircases.

Many researchers state that Maiden Tower was initially built for religious purposes and that it was a temple where religious ceremonies were held. For some scholars it was a "hut" of the Zoroastrians. On this basis they date Maiden Tower to the 8th -7th centuries B.C. According to some hypotheses this monument was used as an ancient observatory. Some scholars believe that the Tower was a fortified part of the Shirvanshahs’ defensive structure and was used to send signals from the top to other towers in times of danger.

You can view the 3D virtual tour on Maiden Tower at: https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=fCqwS9zmrY7

International Museum Day is established at the initiative of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) and held annually on May 18. The event highlights a specific theme that changes every year to promote cultural exchange and cooperation among peoples. This year's theme is “Museums for Equality: Diversity and Inclusion”. Due to the current situation with the coronavirus threat, museums of Azerbaijan will celebrate International Museum Day online. Thus, under the “Virtual museum tour” project, famous public figures will become guides, taking the audience to a virtual tour around the museum's permanent exhibition, and talk about carpets and other samples of decorative and applied arts in Azerbaijani, English, and Russian. More, for the first time in Azerbaijani museum practice, the tour will be accompanied by sign language translation consistent with the motto “Museums for Equality: Diversity and Inclusion”. Furthermore, this day, the Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum and the Russian Ethnographic Museum will organize the online conference and discuss ongoing work within the joint project “Treasures of Azerbaijan in the Russian Ethnographic Museum Collection”, both museums' virtual activity, and exchange their experience in this direction. On May 18, at 2 pm Baku time, for the first time, the National Museum of Art of Azerbaijan will present the exhibition of paintings by children with vision disabilities. These paintings were created by students of the Republican Special Boarding School No. 5 and the Rehabilitation Center during masterclass led by Georgi Guraspashvili, Professor at the Tbilisi Academy of Arts. The masterclass was a part of the international seminar “Art Without Border”. The virtual exhibition will be available on the museum’s Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter pages. The Azerbaijan State Museum of Musical Culture will present its collections to a wide audience in three languages: “Listen to What We Have”; “Fine Arts in the Azerbaijan State Museum of Musical Culture”. The presentation will be adapted to people with disabilities. The audio and video anthology prepared by the museum will include posts about national and world musical instruments. The Museum Ensemble of Ancient Musical Instruments will give a festive concert to congratulate museum workers around the world. On International Museum Day, the YARAT Contemporary Art Center plans to implement an urban multimedia project where they present to the public exclusive artworks. Viewers will be able to get acquainted with museum collections and exhibition projects dedicated to various historical periods and topics. The artworks for the project will be presented by the Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum, the Museum of Azerbaijani Painting of the 20th-21st Centuries, the National Museum of Hungary, the National Museum of Latvia, and the YARAT Contemporary Art Center. The viewers will be able to observe the show from their windows and balconies without need to leave home. The National Museum of the History of Azerbaijan has developed an online project “One Touch - A Thousand Values”. As part of the project, on May 18 at 10:20 am, Sevinj Nasirova, Head of the Museum's Ethnographic Science Foundation, PhD in Arts will inform the public about the protection of cultural heritage and future joint activities of museums in the “Dikdaban” public television program. Gobustan National Historical-Artistic Reserve has announced on social networks the media campaign “Be on the Rock of Gobustan!”. Those who want to join this campaign should send their photos taken in Gobustan to the reserve’s Facebook and Instagram pages. These photos will be used in the poster design in Gobustan. Furthermore, this day at 3 pm, the reserve will arrange a live meeting on Facebook with the ceramics artist Mir Teymur Mammadov. On May 18, the Icherisheher Museum Center will present a video promotion of “Inclusive Education Through Traditional Arts” about the first program of inclusive education for artistic and creative expression in the field of culture, implemented by the Museum Center of the Administration of Icherisheher State Historical-Architectural Reserve together with the European Union and the UN Development Programme. The Azerbaijan Independence Museum will conduct an online tour “Equality” for vulnerable groups within society on May 18 at noon on Zoom. The Azerbaijan State Museum of Theater after Jafar Jabbarli will join the celebration with the program “World Belongs to All of Us”, which includes a virtual exhibition of paintings by children with autism spectrum disorders from the Together and Healthy (Birgə və Sağlam) Public Union, as well as a live broadcast of a play “Blue Bird” of the inclusive theater “Əsa”. The virtual exhibition will be live on the museum’s Facebook page at noon, and the performance at 5 pm. The House Museum of Jafar Jabbarli will present the Morning Star photo exhibition, introducing visitors to unique historical exhibits stored in the museum, as well as photographs reflecting successful projects and interesting events implemented by the museum in different years. On May 5-18, the Khachmaz Museum of History and Local Lore holds an online painting contest “Mysterious and Magical World” among schoolchildren under the motto “Museums for Equality: Diversity and Inclusion” and “My Exhibit”. Students send their drawings of favorite museums or exhibits, as well as their photos to the museum’s Facebook and Instagram pages. Winners will receive diplomas and gifts. On May 18, at 11 am, the Masalli Museum of History and Local Lore will arrange on its Facebook account a virtual presentation “Past and Present of our Folklore” accompanied by the Halay folk music and dance ensemble.  

Azerbaijani artist Aidan Salakhova has created a statue dedicated to medical workers and their self-sacrifice during the coronavirus pandemic.

The sculpture is 2.6 meters high and weighs 2 tons. The M-shaped statue is made of Carrara marble. Salakhova's art work will be likely to be installed in one of Alushta city parks.

Aidan Salakhova, daughter of the famous artist Tahir Salakhov, is an Azerbaijani and Russian artist, gallerist and public person. In 1992, she founded the Aidan Gallery in Moscow.

Salakhova's art works are stored in many private and state collections including the State Tretyakov Gallery, the Moscow Museum of Modern Art, the Ekaterina Cultural Foundation, Francois Pinault Foundation, Teutloff Museum and the Boghossian Foundation; in private collections of I. Khalilov, P-K. Broshe, T. Novikov, V. Nekrasov, V. Bondarenko and others. 

The artist successfully participates in major international art fairs and biennales including the Venice Biennale of Contemporary Art (1991, 2011), the 2nd Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art (2007), etc.

With stunning and immersive art works, Azerbaijan Modern Art Museum never cease to amaze its visitors.

Initiated by First-Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva, the museum has been successfully operating since March 20, 2009.

The main feature of the museum is that it does not have fixed subject areas. The museum has open passages and walls that meet at different angles, united by unique conspicuous metallic structures. The chief designer of the museum is the artist Altay Sadikh-zadeh; the architect of the building is Jean Nouvel.

The National Modern Art Museum displays nearly 1,000 works of eminent contemporary artists and sculptors, well-known not only in Azerbaijan but also abroad.

The museum stores extraordinary paintings of such artists as Rasim Babayev, Fazil Najafov, Mammad Mustafayev, Fuad Salayev, Altay Sadikh-zadeh and others. 

Morever, the museum’s exposition treasures the works of the great European masters - the founders of the avant-garde style Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall. The classic of Western realism is represented by several paintings from a private collection.

In addition, a video hall, a café and a restaurant, separate hall for private exhibitions, a library, a children's fine arts department as well as a bookstore with materials on the world art, architecture and sculpture are also located in the museum. 

Upon the initiative of the Embassy of Hungary, with the support of the CBC Television, and Medeniyyet TV, the Embassies of Hungary, Moldova, Latvia, Uzbekistan, Ukraine and Kazakhstan united to participate in a musical project, expressed in the performance of the famous Azerbaijani folk song Sari Gelin.

During several days, the song was presented by Hungarian musicians Bori Magyar, Zoltán Mizsei and Laszlo Farkas Keönch, National Artist of the Republic of Moldova Constantin Moscovici, Latvian chello trio Melo-M, Honory Artist of the Republic of Uzbekistan Yulduz Turdiyeva, Ukrainian pianist, composer and producer Ivan Lopuhov as well as Bibigul Isinbayeva and Sabitov Miras from Kazakhstan. 

The implementing of the project represents solidarity with the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijani citizens in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The composition was recorded taking into account social isolation. Each musician performed his part at home. 

The song "Sari Gelin" (literally "Yellow" or "Golden-Haired" Bride) is written on the lyrical mugam "Shur" - the pearl of the Azerbaijani national musical art. The song`s chorus originates from the "Saranj" part of this mugam, while the rhythm coincides with the rhythms of Azerbaijani folk songs.

There are many legends about this song. Some people believe that it is dated back to the time of Shah Ismail I, better known as Shah Ismail Khatai, while others connect its origin with the Karabakh ashugs. They speak convincingly enough about the origin of the words of this song. 

New project on intellectual game "What? Where? When?" will be launched in Azerbaijan. 

Co-organized by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Youth Intellectual Development Center and the Khazar Youth Intellectual Club, the project "OnlayNHN" aims at organizing fruitful leisure time at home during quarantine. 

The "OnlayNHN" will be held on Quantum platform. All discussions will be carried out through audio and video. The project, consisting of four rounds, is scheduled for May-June.

For more information, please visit:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/Xezer/

https://www.facebook.com/Xemseoyunu/

Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum has presented another exhibit from its "Textile, Clothing, Embroidery" collection. 

This time, the museum provided insight into the history of waistbands of Azerbaijani women called tumans (skirts).

They were made of a fabric called takhta, which consisted of 12 pieces. The majority of women usually wore several tumans at the same time. The tumans that were worn between the outermost and innermost skirts were called ara tumani — intermediate. The number of ara tumani worn at any one time varied from 1 to 11. The main characteristics of these tumans are their shorter length (10 to 15 cm).

All tumans were gathered in frill or fold at the waist. Tumans fastened at the waist with tuman baghi (silk and colored handmade knitting cord).

The cord ended with small colored, golden, and silver pompons. The skirts were made of varied and very expensive fabrics, including calico, velvet and termeh. The borders of tumans were decorated with golden and silver lace, delicate rim from expensive fabrics, and also various types of galloon.